The senior population, over 65 years old, is skyrocketing in the United States. Smart technologies and IoT (Internet of Things) reach unprecedented advancement levels. The Aging in Place movement becomes more popular every day. In this framework, discussing the importance of smart devices in elder care is crucial if we want to offer our family members the safety, comfort, and independence they need as they reach their golden years.
Seniors Want to Live in their Homes When They Get Old
As a senior, it is frustrating, humiliating, and downright hard to say goodbye to your home and move in with strangers in a nursing home or an assisted living facility. According to recent reports, over 90% of the elderly population (65 years and more) make the voluntary choice of staying at home and planning for Aging in Place home redesigns and technology upgrades. Our seniors want to enjoy independent living, engage in their familiar routines, receive medical care from professionals that are there for them, and preserve decent lifestyles even if they have to live alone.
Nursing homes, while all the rage back in the day, are not the cheapest, healthiest, or safest places to live when you reach your golden years. The statistics on nursing home mistreatments are frightening, to say the least, according to Pintas website, with over one million reports of elder abuse in nursing homes each year. Either intentional or non-intentional, the fact that families are now hiring attorneys for claims of neglect or the physical, emotional, sexual, and financial abuse of their elders paints a bleak picture of our elders’ future.
Add the high risks of bacterial and viral diseases spreading among residents. Then, consider the loneliness and psychological issues seniors experience in nursing homes, plus the high costs of securing your senior parent a single room in a nursing home. Now, do you understand why Aging in Place is a reasonable way to go about becoming old?
Top Technologies to Help Seniors Live Safe and Comfortable Lives
The use of technology to augment our homes to make them friendlier for our elders with the aid of smart devices, Artificial Intelligence, and inter-connected appliances (IoT) is on the rise. When it comes to smart home technology, we have a host of solutions at our disposal! Let’s see a few of them!
1. Voice-Activated Virtual Assistants
Used as both a tool and a digital companion for seniors who live alone, smart speakers with voice-activated assistants – such as Alexa – are changing the game when it comes to accessibility, Aging in Place, and even the healthcare system. Voice assistants combat loneliness and increase seniors’ psychological wellbeing.
These days, Alexa can work with home hubs that allow a senior to control by voice everything in their homes, from lightbulbs to sensors, switches, door locks, and even appliances. Voice control eliminates the massive learning curve seniors have to go through when it comes to technology. It is also the best choice for people with mobility and flexibility issues.
2. Wearable Gadgets
One of the most significant issues with seniors living alone is home accidents, forgetting to take their medication, lack of fast communication with the outside world, health monitoring, and so on. With today’s advances in wearable technology – smartwatches, fitness trackers, panic buttons, etc. – the seniors can live safer, more fulfilling lives. A smartwatch can alert a person to take her or his meds, while motion sensors and apps can notify the family or the medical staff that an elder fell, has high blood pressure, or shows elevated stress levels.
3. Safety Sensors and Devices
The safety of a senior living alone is a source of distress for the family or caregivers. According to a survey conducted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), more than 60% of family members and caregivers showed concerns regarding seniors forgetting to turn off the stoves. With age, people become less and less able to deal with everyday chores, like using faucets, manage water leaks, turn off the lights, cook, etc.
When it comes to safety, we now have smart smoke detectors that shut off automatically the source of gas or fire, issue text alerts to caregivers, and offer the elders voice instructions on how to proceed. Moreover, leak detection sensors and automatic water shutoff valves prevent flooding in the house.
Add video doorbells for home security, app-activated appliances (air conditioning, dishwashers, ovens, washing machines, etc.), and you understand how technology can save peoples’ lives and make them better, more comfortable, more pleasurable.
4. Stairlifts
The installation of a stairlift in the home of a senior can make a huge difference in their level of independence and safety. Doing some research into the start of your stairlift journey, you’ll find it means that the whole house remains accessible, which can be crucial for ensuring seniors feel they’re living as they want and not in a restricted fashion. Beyond this, it also reduces any worries they might have about getting up or down the stairs safely.
Bottom Line
If you think seniors resist embracing new tech for their Aging in Place plans, the CTA survey mentioned above begs to differ. The tech-based health and remote care of seniors are likely to become the largest market segment for people 65 and more. Technology has always been here to help. There are plenty of housing association software that are helping these senior resident communities. You could also look into senior care Brooklyn.
Now, with the rise of the Aging in Place movement, rethinking IoT and adapting tech to make seniors’ lives safer and more comfortable is just a matter of time.