Pennsylvania Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog
It was only a matter of time before wireless mobile devices, the same technology that allows us to talk via cell phone and connect to the internet without a cable, found a way to help the elderly in our communities.
McKnights.com recently published an article about how researchers are using wireless mobile technology to track daily activities of living, providing important physical and emotional health data.
An independent study was published in the July/August issue of Annals of Family Medicine. In the study, eight elderly continuing care community residents over the age of 85 wore wireless mobile sensors around the waist for 10 days. The sensors monitored and recorded each resident’s daily activities and behaviors. Researchers say the data that was collected could potentially help healthcare providers predict early symptoms of dementia, heart problems, or depression. They added that this method of collecting data was easier to obtain than surveys and other self-reporting forms.
It’s not an easy decision to place a loved one in a nursing home. We hope that research and technology like that described above may one day extend the time that an elderly or disabled person can stay in their own home.