Older people's perspectives regarding the use of sensor monitoring in their home

Background: The early detection of a decline in daily functioning of independently living older people can aid healthcare professionals in providing preventive interventions. To monitor daily activity patterns and, thereby... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
The early detection of a decline in daily functioning of independently living older people can aid healthcare professionals in providing preventive interventions. To monitor daily activity patterns and, thereby detect a decline in daily functioning, new technologies, such as sensors can be placed in the home environment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the perspectives of older people regarding the use of sensor monitoring in their daily lives.

Method:
We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 11 persons between 68 and 93 years who had a sensor monitoring system installed in their home. The data were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

Results:
The interviewed older persons positively valued sensor monitoring and indicated that the technology served as a strategy to enable independent living. The participants perceived that the system contributed to their sense of safety as an important premise for independent living. Some of the participants stated that it helped them to remain active. The potential privacy violation was not an issue for the participants. The participants considered that healthcare professionals’ continuous access to their sensor data and use of the data for their safety outweighed the privacy concerns.


Application to Practice:
The findings in this study encourage older people, who experience some age- and health-related limitations in their daily functioning and who are living alone in the community, to use sensor monitoring. The findings encourage occupational therapists to develop and make use of sensor monitoring in their interventions to support the older persons in independent living.