The Human Element in Monitoring Elders

Okay, so I know that I already published a post on home sensors to better able seniors to age safely in their homes. But I think Jennifer Ludden’s article “Wired Homes Keep Tabs on Aging Parents” in NPR warrants mention. While Ludden investigates a ResCare “telecaregiver” a human caregiver who monitors elders through sensors placed throughout their house and interacts with them each evening over the computer, similar to Skype. In fact, the elders have come to regard her as a “friend.” This is interesting because loneliness and isolation is a huge problem for elders and can lead to health issues, such as depression. While the article may have been peddling a product, it is a reminder that support from a concerned individual, even from afar, remains important and beneficial to elders.

What struck me about the article was Ludden’s comment on human care. While the “telecaregiver” can monitor the elders, a home health aide helps the elder woman with bathing each day. The adult daughter of elders “is grateful the camera can monitor the quality of that care.” The cameras are no longer just to ensure that elders do not harm themselves, by falling or failing to take medication for example; the cameras can also ensure that the human caregivers are acting appropriately. Elder abuse is a huge concern and, of course, this is one of the fundamental reasons why elders do not want to leave their homes and live in assisted living communities or nursing homes. Now, not only can videos help them remain at home, video monitoring can also ensure a high standard of care from humans.

While the previous post’s article stressed monitors as a way for adult children to limit their physical contact with their aging parents, I think this article showed the potential for video monitoring to directly intersect with human care giving. Perhaps videos can be used in nursing homes or assisted living homes to ensure that elders are receiving proper care. The technology that we hoped would lessen other people’s responsibilities may actually increase the amount of scrutiny human care givers face and thus elevate the level of service elders and their loved ones demand.

NPR article: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129104664
ResCare: http://www.rescarehomecare.com/rest-assured-telecare.php