Home Automation Provide for the Aged - Outline Example

HOME AUTOMATION PROVIDE FOR THE AGED By Location Contents Literature Look of the elderly’s needs and the technology for them, which is already in place 3 Study and analyses the elderlys behaviors 4 Things done to solve these problems 4 Result of actions 5 International issue: How does UK needs differ from needs in China? 5 Which and how the technology in home will help the carers do the work better and more efficiency 6 How do these improvements influence the elderly 6 The role of big data and data sharing in smart home 7 Difficulties of the mobile heath and data sharing 7 The possible way of solving the problem 8 Conclusion 8 Home Automation Provide For the Aged Literature Look of the elderly’s needs and the technology for them, which is already in place There are a number of technologies that have already been used to improve the quality of life for older people in care homes. In the year 2013 it was observed that more than 5.2million people with the age of 65 years and above who had never used the internet in the UK. This is a trend that has been changing in the recent past with many care homes installing internet connections in their facilities (Cress 2009, p. 95). There has also been the introduction of emergency buzzers in care home. The buzzers are tied round the necks of the elderly people in care homes, thus enabling them to alert the wardens whenever they are in need of urgent help. This helps in alerting the wardens of unfortunate occurrences such as when the elderly people fall down in the absence of any warden. The wardens are expected to respond to the buzzing sound with immediate effect. These technologies have been clearly effective and helpful in making the lives of elderly people living in care homes aresafer and more interesting. Internet allows the elderly to connect with the outside world. Through such a technology, they can be able to get some enlightenment on what is going on past the walls. They can also be able to keep up with their passions; the things they used to love while still younger. With the buzzers, it is clearly evident that they can be helpful in making sure that there are no preventable deaths or accidents taking place in these homes. The wardens cannot be able to personally attend to all the elderly people in the care home round the clock (Meduse, Governance, Health And Medicine 2008, p. 121). This is even emphasized by the fact that some of the elderly people will also love to enjoy their own privacy at some time. This technology enables wardens to be there when they are needed. Study and analyses the elderlys behaviors There are a number of diet problems that are common with the elderly. At the late stage of the lives of human beings, their bodies tend to need more of nutrients such as: Calcium and vitamin D for bone health; fibre to stay regular; healthy fats to lower chances of heart disease, potassium for blood pressure and to avoid fatigue and depression; and vitamin b12 for energy and brain function. For the elderly people weight is always a very big determinant of their diet. They should be neither overweight nor underweight. Due to low rates of metabolism and lack of physical activities older people are at the risk of being obese. In the other hand some of them might suffer from lack of appetite thus limiting the amount of food they consume. Some elderly might also suffer from decreased sensitivity to salt(Anderson 2011, p. 187). However, the problem in this case is that increased in salt consumption might lead to high blood pressure. Due to the reduced ability to conserve water in their bodies most elderly people are likely to suffer from dehydration. Things done to solve these problems There are a number of things that have been done to reduce the above discussed diet related problems. Most care homes have made sure that they come up with specific diets that are appropriate to the elderly people. These diets emphasize on the presence of calcium, vitamin D, fibre, vitamin B12, healthy fats, and potassium. As for their weight, the wardens make sure that these individuals take the needed quantity of vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats so that they do not have excess weight neither do they have less weight than actually advised. As for the elderly people with appetite problem, the homes make sure that their food are have added natural flavor, and that they do not have to eat by themselves because that will make them fee llonely. Increased sensitivity to salt might be hard to solve given the fact that withdrawing the salt might interfere with the affected individual’s appetite. About the dehydration problem, most care homes usually make sure that the elderly take fluids regularly so that they are protected from dehydration. Result of actions These actions have been effective to some extent in solving the diet problems that are always faced by the elderly. This is because each of these problems has the ability to have a negative effect on the lives of the elderly people. Each of the herein discussed solutions have a way of making sure that the probability of these problems can lead to poor health conditions in the lives of the elderly people. The only problem that does not have a clear solution is the decreased sensitivity to salt. This is because the reduction of salt or its restriction might mean that the people involved might reduce the amount of food that they eat. International issue: How does UK needs differ from needs in China? The needs for elderly people in China might be a little bit different from the needs for elderly people in the UK. The differences are brought about by environmental and cultural differences. In china many elderly people would prefer being taken care of by members of their families. Admission to a care home might be a sign of neglect. However, their families are not always in a position to offer some of the services that are offered by the care home. Given the fact that the Chinese elderly population is rapidly growing, it can be assumed that this is hindering the ability of care home to tend to such people. With relation too the UK, it can be said that china has not invested in care homes and related technology due to the cultural dependence on family structures (Yu 2000, p. 143). However, this will only mean that the elderly people in China cannot be in a better position to use technologies. The only advantage of being taken care of by family members is that the service given is personalized. Which and how the technology in home will help the carers do the work better and more efficiency One technology that care homes should consider adopting is electronic health record systems (EHRs). These are electronic systems that help in addition and retrieval of patient information in real time. Given the fact that elderly people are usually delicate having their information regarding their health history in real time can be of positive influence in making sure that their lives are safe. In this case the EHR will not be used entirely for medical purposes, but to make sure that the lives of elderly people are monitored (Walker, Walker, Bieber& Richards 2005, p. 167). With such monitoring the wardens can be able to notice whenever there is any kind of change and can be able to respond to their situations in real time thus saving their lives. Such a system will need a network, database systems, and mobile devices so that the wardens will be able to access the needed information from whichever part of the home that they are (Scarlat 2012, p. 174). How do these improvements influence the elderly Elderly people might not be necessarily sick, but usually have unique needs. This is an indication that an EHR will enable the care homes to offer personalized services to elderly people (Moumtzoglou&Kastania 2011, p. 123). With such improvements elderly people will be able to live longer because they will always be able to get their problems taken care of before they get serious. One thing that should be noted is that the main purpose of care homes is to make sure that the quality of life for the elderly people is enhanced. The role of big data and data sharing in smart home Every person usually has different needs when it comes to provision of care. These differences are brought about by genetic differences, health history, and health status. Data sharing makes care givers increased effectiveness because are able to make decisions on the basis of accurate data. Apart from effectiveness, data sharing also makes care provision less complicated and less time consuming (Berman 2013, p. 201). Due to technology, data can be shared over a wide range of area from a single data source, making unnecessary for every care giver to have their own data recording, storing, and retrieval mechanism. Difficulties of the mobile heath and data sharing Difficulties of the mobile heath and data sharing include the issue about network security. Given the fact that data sharing involves using networks, there is always the risk of the data being accessed by unauthorized people, thus putting the lives of those whose information are kept in the systems in danger. There is also the question on whether or not the developers of the devices and applications that are used can be trusted (El 2013, p. 112). Some of them can unlawfully access the content of the database systems. Another problem might come when it comes to familiarizing the institution’s personnel with the new technology. This will obviously cost financial resources and time. The possible way of solving the problem These problems might be solved by making sure that the integrity of apps and device providers is determined before making any contracts. It is also important to make sure that the networks are firewalled to prevent any unauthorized access. Conclusion Technology is evidently an evolutionary force in care provision for elderly people. As seen, the elderly people need extra attention given their unique needs. Technology has over the past been used to increase the quality of life of elderly people. This does not end there, because there are technologies such as EHR that can be sued to improve the quality of life for the elderly people. Bibliography Anderson, MA 2011,Caring for older adults holistically,F.A. Davis Co, Philadelphia, Pa. Berman, JJ 2013,Principles of big data preparing, sharing, and analyzing complex information.http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=486639. Cress, C 2009,Care managers: working with the aging family, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury, Mass. El, EK 2013,Risky business: Sharing health data while protecting privacy. S.l.: Trafford On Demand Pub. Gartee, R 2011,Electronic health records: understanding and using computerized medical records,Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J. Meduse, Governance, Health, And Medicine 2008,Ageing, technology and home care: new actors, new responsabilities,Mines ParisTech, les Presses, Paris. Moumtzoglou, A &Kastania, A 2011,E-health systems quality and reliability: models and standards, Medical Information Science Reference, Hershey PA. Scarlat, A 2012,Electronic health record: a systems analysis of the medications domain,Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton. Walker, JM, Walker, JM, Bieber, EJ & Richards, F 2005,Implementing an electronic health record system,Springer, London. Yu, WK 2000,Chinese older people: a need for social inclusion in two communities,Policy Press, Bristol. Read More