Assisted Living Technology Workshop

Assisted Living
Technology Workshop
Tahir Idris & Steve Bonner
Assistive Technology Consultants

with

Lifestyle Choices

Today’s Workshop

What you go away with is
dependent on how many
questions you ask, so please
choose to share your own
personal experiences!

with

Lifestyle Choices

INTRODUCTIONS
BACKGROUND
ASPIRATIONS

with

Lifestyle Choices

Assistive Technology
and other enabling Technologies...

Assistive Technology:

Any device or technical means by which a
person is able to live more independently
and safely and perhaps be able to regain
lost skills and abilities. These devices may
or may not be something the user is aware
exists or is in place, nor does it necessarily
require them to have any technical
knowledge to make use of the equipment.

with

Lifestyle Choices

An AT device can be as simple as:

Or as high-tech as:

with

Lifestyle Choices

AT is an umbrella description of a number
of technologies including:
Aids to daily living.
Physical adaptations.
Telecare and social alarms.
Safety equipment.
Lifestyle Monitoring.
Safe Walking.
Telehealth / Telemedicine.
Communication aids and environmental controls.
Relaxation and therapy devices.

with

Lifestyle Choices

Assistive Technologies fall into two broad categories based on
how their use is implemented and to what purpose they are put.
In general terms AT equipment can be classed as:

Active Assistive Technology
A piece of equipment that the user is aware of, knows its function, and which
requires the direct participation of that user to operate, e.g. pressing a button to
unlock and open a door.

Passive Assistive Technology
A piece of equipment that the user is either unaware of, and/or which
requires no direct participation of that user to operate. The device
operates automatically in response to some outside influence, e.g. a
triggered smoke alarm may switch off the electricity to a stove or other
appliance.

with

Lifestyle Choices

Telecare
An electronic device that acts as a safety net to
maintain the health, safety and well-being of an
individual without impeding their normal daily
activities and does not usually require them to have
any awareness or technical knowledge of that device.

with

Lifestyle Choices

TeleMedicine and/ or Telehealth
Equipment which is used to monitor a users vital
medical readings, generally when they are within
their own home environment. - Those readings
can be stored, accessed and acted upon
remotely by a GP or other health professional.
This approach allows the user to remain at home
whilst they may otherwise be retained 'under
observation' in hospital.

with

Lifestyle Choices

The tip of the Iceberg.....
.

Next: Aids to Daily Living and
Physical Adaptations

with

Lifestyle Choices

Aids to Daily Living and
Aids to Daily Living:
Any device or technical means by which a person
is able to live more independently and safely and
perhaps be able to regain lost skills and abilities.
Invariably they are simple low-tech, low cost items,
which can be readily bought from most high street
shops. Usually no technical knowledge or specialist
installation is required.

with

Lifestyle Choices

Aids to Daily Living

with

Lifestyle Choices


with

Lifestyle Choices

Good building design and
layout may reduce or remove
the need for assistive or
enabling technologies!

with

Lifestyle Choices

Next:Social Alarms and Telecare

with

Lifestyle Choices

Social Alarms and Telecare
Social Alarms

with

Lifestyle Choices

Telecare

An electronic device that acts as a safety net
to maintain the health, safety and well-being of
an individual without impeding their normal
daily activities and does not usually require
them to have any awareness or technical
knowledge of that device.

with

Lifestyle Choices

'Active' Assistive Devices
Active Assistive Technology
A piece of equipment that the user
is aware of, knows its function, and
which requires the direct
participation of that user to operate,
e.g. pressing a button to unlock and
open a door.

with

Lifestyle Choices

'Passive' Assistive Devices
Passive Assistive Technology
A piece of equipment that the user is either
unaware of, and/or which requires no direct
participation of that user to operate. The
device operates automatically in response to
some outside influence, e.g. a triggered
smoke alarm may switch off the electricity to
a stove or other appliance.

with

Lifestyle Choices

Next: Telehealth and Telemedicine

with

Lifestyle Choices

Telehealth and Telemedicine
Equipment which is used to monitor a users vital
medical readings, generally when they are within their
own home environment. Those readings can be
stored, accessed and acted upon remotely by a GP or
other health professional. This approach allows the
user to remain at home whilst they may otherwise be
retained 'under observation' in hospital. If appropriate
it may also allow for remote consultation with a GP or
health professional.

with

Lifestyle Choices

Telehealth

with

Lifestyle Choices

Telemedicine

with

Lifestyle Choices

Next: Lifestyle Monitoring
with

Lifestyle Choices

Lifestyle Monitoring
Equipment which discreetly monitors a
persons normal daily activity e.g. cooking,
using appliances, moving around the
home. If they deviate from a typical daily
pattern or no activity is detected, an alarm
can be raised with a carer or a relative.
Unusual activity can also be used to flag
up potential health or well-being issues.

with

Lifestyle Choices

Lifestyle Monitoring and Assessment
Assess a persons ability to manage
their own care without external
support.
Identify underlying health issues.
Provide hands-off monitoring/support
after discharge from hospital or
nursing care and during recuperation.

with

Lifestyle Choices

Provide a care safety net without
excessive intrusion.
Monitor a person with a deteriorating
physical or cognitive condition e.g.
Parkinsons, MS, dementia, and
decide on an intervention at an
appropriate time.
Manage risk situations e.g. falls or
fire, without constant supervision.

with

Lifestyle Choices

Next: Prompts & Reminders
with

Lifestyle Choices

Prompts and Reminders
Just a few of the areas of risk are:
Forgetting to switch off domestic appliances, e.g. cooker, or
failing to switch off taps.
Not securing the home or not taking adequate security
precautions when answering the door to callers.
Forgetting to take medication at appropriate times or taking
excessive doses of medication.

with

Lifestyle Choices

Prompts and Reminders

with

Lifestyle Choices

Talking Handbooks

with

Lifestyle Choices

'I'm OK', an alternative to
morning calls.
Alerting by exception.
Can be used to remind user
of appointments,
medication times, etc.
Paging / messaging to
provide information or
warnings (e.g. arrival of
community transport, bogus
callers alerts, etc).

with

Lifestyle Choices

Hearing and
Visual Impairment

with

Lifestyle Choices

Next:Communication
and Social Interaction
with

Lifestyle Choices

Communication and Social
Interaction

with

Lifestyle Choices

Video Communication
Television-based
'Skype' communication.
No computer or computer
skills needed.
Uses existing TV remote
control or wireless
keyboard.
Looks like a Wii/Kinect.

with

Lifestyle Choices

Tablets, Apps and Smartphones
Communication software
configured to work with the
Apple iPad and iPhone
platform using high quality
speech engines.

Software also allows users
to communicate with a
standard PC, Laptop or
Netbook.
with

Lifestyle Choices

Environmental Controls

with

Lifestyle Choices

Mobile Telephones

•Simplified keypad functions.
•Large buttons.
•Easy to read display.
•SOS/Emergency call options.
•Pay as You Go.
•Low cost: loss or damage less of an issue.

with

Lifestyle Choices

Next: Safe Walking

with

Lifestyle Choices

Safe Walking
Safety on the Move ('Safe Walking')
The emergence of GSM (Mobile Telephone) and
GPS (Global Positioning) better network coverage,
and the dramatic reduction in cost, has made the use
of GSM and GPS a viable option for supporting
people to live a more independent lifestyle.
The ability for vulnerable people or those with a
learning disability to get out and about on their own
has come to be know as 'Safe Walking'.

with

Lifestyle Choices

•GPS embedded technology.
•SOS buttons.
•Man Down / fall alerts.
•Connection to social alarm call facilities.
•Text messaging / Google-maps etc.
•Useful for Lone Workers or those in
vulnerable situations.

with

Lifestyle Choices

•Geo-Fencing
•Real time tracking
•'Ping' to get location
•Accurate to within 5 metres

with

Lifestyle Choices

A taste of the
Future?

with

Lifestyle Choices

Next: Dementia
with

Lifestyle Choices

Dementia

with

Lifestyle Choices

'Nana'
Technology

with

Lifestyle Choices

'ode'
'grouple'

with

Lifestyle Choices

'Trading
Times'
'buddi band'

'Dementia
Dog'

with

Lifestyle Choices

'Giraffe'

with

Lifestyle Choices

Next: Ethics
with

Lifestyle Choices

Ethics of Technology Use?

with

Lifestyle Choices

Thousands of old people 'drugged'
More than 22,000 elderly people in nursing homes are being given powerful sedatives for no
medical reason, it has been claimed.
A report by the Liberal Democrats suggests residents who do not need these drugs are
being kept sedated to make life easier for staff.
Its health spokesman Paul Burstow said the situation may be even worse in residential
homes.
"Quite simply the over medication of older people is abuse," he said.
The report's figures are based on a review of British and international studies in this area
and information released to parliament.

BBC News November 2003

with

Lifestyle Choices

Comments?

Next: Case Studies
with

Lifestyle Choices

Case Studies

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY A
Mr and Mrs Smith
Mr and Mrs Smith have been married for 55 years. Mr Smith has dementia, and due to his
restless sleep patterns, Mr and Mrs Smith sleep in separate beds, but in the same room.
Mrs Smith is her husbands main carer, and will assist him whilst going to the toilet at night
and coax him back to bed if he becomes agitated.
Being on call 24 hours a day has taken its toll on her health, energy and sleep patterns, and
a recent incident particularly upset Mrs Smith.
One evening Mrs Smith was physically exhausted and did not wake up when her husband
get out of bed and left the room. She was awakened to the sound of her husbands cries
coming from the bathroom. He had found his way into the shower cubicle in the bathroom,
closed the door behind him, and due to the clear glazed screen, was unable to work out how
to get back out of the shower unit.
Mrs Smith has now resorted to 'tethering' her wrist to her husbands with a piece of ribbon, but
still finds it difficult to get a good nights sleep.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY B
Billy W

Billy is 10 years old and is autistic. From an early age he has had a tendency to
'escape' from the house through open doors, so his parents ensured that the
garden was enclosed with a fence Billy could not get over.
Now he is older and taller he can scale this fence in seconds if he is outside and
unsupervised. The external doors have standard Yale type locks so cannot be
secured from inside, and now Billy can easily open the doors to make his getaway.
Unfortunately there have been a number of incidents when he has left home in the
middle of the night in his pyjamas as his parents slept, and been picked up by the
Police.
It is a Housing Association property and Billy's parents asked them to fit a secure
lock on his bedroom door, but they refused due to the risk to his safety in the
event of a house fire.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY C
Miss W

Miss W moved into an Extra Care scheme with her sister. Both had a
diagnosis of early onset dementia. Unfortunately within the first 2 months of
them moving in, her sister died.
Which left Miss W both bereft and becoming increasingly confused.
The flats in the housing scheme had secure wings for residents to stop
visitors from entering private dwellings from the communal areas. These
secure areas were accessed by the use of a 'fob' swipe door system.
Miss W would leave her flat to visit the communal areas and socialise with
staff and other tenants, but started to forget to take her keys and fob with
her. As a result she would be unable to get back to her flat and walk around
the communal area becoming more upset and confused.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY D
Mr Y

Mr Y has mental health issues with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. He has
no concept of danger. He lives alone within a housing scheme where there
is a care support presence and all supported tenants are connected to care
staff via a call alarm system.
Mr Y has been re-homed into this supported dwelling because he has
managed to set fire to his previous 6 tenancies due to his actions.
Examples of what has been witnessed is him trying to fry an egg in 1” of
cooking oil in a pan, and wanting to pour a cup of water into his electric
toaster because he had burnt the toast and it was smoking.
As a result it has been decided that he should not be allowed to prepare
any meals requiring the use of cooking appliances without care staff
supervision.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY E
Mrs W

Mrs W is recently widowed and is frail, but has no cognitive impairment
issues. At her daughters insistence she has recently moved from her 3bedroomed semi-detached property into a 2-bedroomed flat within an
'Extra Care' supported housing development. She has taken much of
her furniture and possessions with her.
Mrs W has settled into her new property, and enjoys the companionship
of other tenants and the activities which get her out of the flat to
socialise. The only problem is that she has started having falls, mainly
within her own property. Whilst as yet she hasn't injured herself badly, it
has shaken her confidence, and is becoming more and more reluctant
to leave her flat, or even out of her favourite armchair.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY F
Mr T

Mr T has had one leg amputated and requires a (self-propelled)
wheelchair to get around.
He lives in a sheltered housing development in a 1-bedroomed flat. He
likes to socialise with other tenants in the communal lounge and activity
rooms, but due to his being unable to get out of his wheelchair, requires
one of the care staff to come and collect him from his flat so he can be
involved in the schemes activities.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY G
Miss N

Miss N is a young woman who has been paralysed due to a road traffic
incident. She is in her mid-30's, and has two children. Her paralysis
limits her to a small degree of arm movement, but it allows her to
perform basic tasks, and operate the joystick on her powered
wheelchair.
Miss N has a PA (Personal Assistant) who helps her with bathing,
toileting and dressing. She has a good family support network as her
mother and father live locally.
She is fiercely independent and wants to look at options to allow her to
regain lost skills since her accident. - She has received a substantial
insurance settlement to cater for her current and future care needs.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY H
Edward

Edward is a young man in his early-20's. He is confined to a (powered)
wheelchair but he has good manual dexterity, so he can mobilise himself
using the chairs joystick control.
He lives in a shared property with 3 other physically and/or learning disabled
tenants. The tenants are provided with 24 hour sleepover care.
Edward and his fellow tenants enjoy lots of outings and activities, and
Edward likes to record these events with his camera, and loves to share his
photographs with anyone he meets.
The main frustration for Edward is that his vocalisation skills are very poor
and he finds it very difficult to describe his photographs to those he is
sharing them with. Also, because of his poor speech he can quite often
withdraw within himself and become angry at not being able to communicate
his wishes easily.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY I
Mrs B

Mrs B has severe arthritis. During the day she is confined to a
wheelchair (which she cannot propel herself) or sits in an armchair,
and at night has to be helped to get into bed. She does have a
limited degree of mobility in her right hand, which allows her to
answer the telephone and operate her television.
She has regular visitors (family and carers), but cannot open the
door to them herself. She has made the decision to permanently
leave her door on the 'latch' during the day, and when her carer
leaves after helping Mrs B to bed, the carer takes the latch off, and
closes the door behind her so it is locked.
Her family and carers have concerns that her property is insecure
during the day and that Mrs B may be vulnerable to theft or attack.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY J
Mr C

Mr C is a heavy smoker and has a history of alcohol abuse. He lives
alone with minimal care support. He has no family to assist him.
He is physically active, but his smoking and drinking have lead to
some issues around 'near misses' with fires and cooking accidents.
As he lives in a small block of flats, his neighbours are particularly
worried about his lifestyle!

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY K
Miss W

Miss W is in her early 20's and is profoundly deaf. She is single but
she has just given birth to a baby, and moved into her first ever
tenancy, which is in a block of flats.
She gets good levels of support from her parents, and whilst they
are keen for Miss W to gain her independence, they are concerned
about both their daughters ability to cope, and the welfare of their
new grandchild.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY L
Mr Y

Mr Y has had a severe degeneration in his vision. This is an
inoperable/incurable condition, which makes it increasing difficult to read text
unless it is in large print or with a good contrast between paper and text. He
has always been an avid reader.
Mr Y finds it very frustrating that he can no longer read letters he is sent, that
he cannot read newspapers, and that whilst his local library has large print
books, they limit his choice of reading topics.
His daughter has bought him a large 'widescreen' television in the hope that
he can at least make out some of the images and keep some connection to
the outside world.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY M
Mr G

Mr G has dementia, but he is still fit and healthy, walking his dog
every day. Unfortunately one day he took his dog for a walk and
got disorientated.
He didn't return home and his absence was reported by his
daughter. After an extensive search by emergency services and
relatives, Mr G was eventually found 25 miles away... Both he and
his collie dog were exhausted and dehydrated.
Since that incident Mr G has lost all confidence about going
outside and he has become very depressed.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY N
Miss A

Miss A has a learning disability and lives in a shared supported tenancy. She
is obsessive about knowing what she is doing each day almost on a minute
by minute basis.
Her carers spend a lot of time describing her day to her, and if they are
unavailable, even for a short time, she gets very distressed.
Miss A's care staff are trying to encourage her to become more independent
and be aware of her own timetable without constant prompting.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY O
Mr & Mrs F

Mr & Mrs F both have Downs Syndrome and have been living in their
own home (with some external care support) for the past 12 months.
Unfortunately they are living in a high crime area and they are too
trusting of visitors to their door. They have been victims of bogus
callers and people talking their way into their home on numerous
occasions, and robbing them of goods and money.
They do have a social worker and some relatives who live a short
distance away, but despite their problems with bogus callers, they wish
to remain living independently.

with

Lifestyle Choices

CASE STUDY P
Mr D

Mr D has short term memory problems. He is easily distracted
and has on a number of occasions forgotten when he has left a
tap running in the kitchen or the bathroom.
The result has only been minor floods, but as he lives in an
upper flat in a block, his neighbours below have become
concerned as it impacts on their own property.
As Mr P also has some health/frailty issues, he has been
previously supplied with a 'social alarm' pendant call system.

with

Lifestyle Choices

Assisted Living Technology Workshop

Recomendados

Recomendados

Más contenido relacionado

Similar a Assisted Living Technology Workshop

Similar a Assisted Living Technology Workshop (20)

Último

Último (20)

Assisted Living Technology Workshop

Notas del editor