The senior citizens of today have a preference for their independent living and desire to live actively for as long as they can. One thing that older adults never really prefer is to move to any nursing home or institution, they rather wish to grow old and age in their own homes.
With the availability of health-monitoring technology, it has now become possible to monitor the health of senior citizens while they live right at their homes. As a part of the seniors’ health monitoring, researchers have used equipment such as computers, sensors, communication systems. They have even taken the assistance of supportive health care services to promote this technology and make it possible to help seniors live at home. Now, any variations in the behavior and physical activity of senior citizens living at home, such as their sleeping and walking patterns, can easily be monitored by the motion sensor networks which are placed in their homes.
Living at home for senior citizens was a problem before the existence of the health-monitoring technology because they could not be properly taken care of and often their health would begin deteriorating. Luckily now, these changes such as these can be identified at an early stage and interventions regarding a senior’s health care no longer have to be delayed. Since the seniors’ health monitoring technology prevents any serious health events from occurring even when they are on their own, they get to freely live at their homes. This research regarding the health-monitoring technology was in fact given the name of ‘aging in place’. Researchers placed integrated sensor networks at retirement communities, but more specifically at apartments of older adults.
These systems actually made it possible for these senior citizens to remain active and stay healthy while avoiding any chances of being hospitalized and relocated. Before the promotion of the seniors’ health monitoring technology, these researches had been collecting data which helped them identify patterns in the life of senior citizens. With the help of the sensors they were in fact able to detect any adverse health events, which include visits to the emergency room, falls, and any cases of hospitalizations. It is certainly important for older adults to receive support health services, in fact it is a need for them, but at the same time they also wish to remain in an environment of their choice. This environment is usually their own home and the health-monitoring technology made it possible for senior citizens to safely live at home.
