Development of an intelligent e-healthcare system for the domestic care industry

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (7) ◽  
pp. 1426-1445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bennie Wong ◽  
G.T.S. Ho ◽  
Eric Tsui

Purpose In view of the elderly caregiving service being in high demand nowadays, the purpose of this paper is to develop an intelligent e-healthcare system for the domestic care industry by using the Internet of Things (IoTs) and Fuzzy Association Rule Mining (FARM) approach. Design/methodology/approach The IoTs connected with the e-healthcare system collect real-time vital sign monitoring data for the e-healthcare system. The FARM approach helps to identify the hidden relationships between the data records in the e-healthcare system to support the elderly care management tasks. Findings To evaluate the proposed system and approach, a case study was carried out to identify the association between the specific collected demographic data, behavior data and the health measurements data in the e-healthcare system. It is found that the discovered rules are useful for the care management tasks in the elderly healthcare service. Originality/value Knowledge discovery in databases uses various data mining techniques and rule-based artificial intelligence algorithms. This paper demonstrates complete processes on how an e-healthcare system connected with IoTs can support the elderly care services via a data collection phase, data analysis phase and data reporting phase by using the FARM to evaluate the fuzzy sets of the data attributes. The caregivers can use the discovered rules for proactive decision support of healthcare services and to improve the overall service quality by enhancing the elderly healthcare service responsiveness.

SpringerPlus ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. P1
Author(s):  
Stella, Sin-tung Kwok ◽  
Kris, Wai-ning Wong ◽  
Shun-lai Yang

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
H.Y. Lam ◽  
G.T.S. Ho ◽  
Daniel Y. Mo ◽  
Valerie Tang

PurposeUnder the impact of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), this paper contributes in the deployment of the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT)-based system, namely AIoT-based Domestic Care Service Matching System (AIDCS), to the existing electronic health (eHealth) system so as to enhance the delivery of elderly-oriented domestic care services.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed AIDCS integrates IoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to (1) capture real-time health data of the elderly at home and (2) provide the knowledge support for decision making in the domestic care appointment service in the community.FindingsA case study was conducted in a local domestic care centre which provided elderly oriented healthcare services to the elderly. By integrating IoT and AI into the service matching process of the mobile apps platform provided by the local domestic care centre, the results proved that customer satisfaction and the quality of the service delivery were improved by observing the key performance indicators of the transactions after the implementation of the AIDCS.Originality/valueFollowing the outbreak of COVID-19, this is a new attempt to overcome the limited research done on the integration of IoT and AI techniques in the domestic care service. This study not only inherits the ability of the existing eHealth system to automatically capture and monitor the health status of the elderly in real-time but also improves the overall quality of domestic care services in term of responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 138-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti O. Tanskanen ◽  
Johanna Kallio ◽  
Mirkka Danielsbacka

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate public opinions towards elderly care. The authors analysed respondents’ opinions towards financial support, practical help and care for elderly people. Design/methodology/approach The authors used nationally representative data collected in Finland in 2012. Respondents represent an older generation (born between 1945 and 1950, n=1,959) and their adult children (born between 1962 and 1993, n=1,652). Findings First, the authors compared the opinions of older and younger Finns but did not find that older adults were more likely than younger adults support the state responsibility, or vice versa. It was also when only actual parent-child dyads (n=779) from same families were included. Next, the authors found that several socioeconomic and family-related variables were associated with public opinions of elderly care in both generations. For instance, in both generations lower-income individuals supported the state’s responsibility more compared to their better-off counterparts. Originality/value The study provides important knowledge on attitudes towards elderly care using unique two-generational data of younger and older adults.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Čaić ◽  
Gaby Odekerken-Schröder ◽  
Dominik Mahr

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential roles for service robots (i.e. socially assistive robots) in value networks of elderly care. Taking an elderly person’s perspective, it defines robot roles according to their value co-creating/destroying potential for the elderly user (i.e. focal actor), while acknowledging consequences for a network of users around the elderly (i.e. network actors). Design/methodology/approach This qualitative, interpretative study employs in-depth phenomenographic interviews, supported by generative cards activities (i.e. Contextual Value Network Mapping), to elicit an elderly person’s tacit knowledge and anticipate the effects of introducing an automated actor on institutionalized value co-creation practices. Findings The proposed typology identifies six roles of socially assistive robots in an elderly person’s value network (enabler, intruder, ally, replacement, extended self, and deactivator) and links them to three health-supporting functions by robots: safeguarding, social contact, and cognitive support. Research limitations/implications Elderly people have notable expectations about the inclusion of a socially assistive robot as a new actor in their value networks. The identified robot roles inform service scholars and managers about both the value co-destruction potential that needs to be avoided through careful designs and the value co-creation potential that should be leveraged. Originality/value Using network-conscious phenomenographic interviews before the introduction of a novel value proposition sheds new light on the shifting value co-creation interplay among value network actors (i.e. elderly people, formal and informal caregivers). The value co-creation/destruction potential of socially assistive robots and their corresponding roles in care-based value networks offer insights for the design of meaningful robotic technology and its introduction into the existing service networks.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9308
Author(s):  
Mengyuan Wang ◽  
Xiaoming Qi ◽  
Zehong Li ◽  
Maogui Hu

The demand for elderly care in China is growing, and the elderly care industry has great development prospects. Climatic conditions are important factors that affect the health of elderly individuals and the development of the elderly care industry. This study will have important guiding significance for the layout of China’s elderly care industry. This paper utilizes ArcGIS and the spatial fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to analyze the climatic suitability for the development of the elderly care industry in China’s four municipalities, the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan regions, and 333 prefecture-level administrative regions based on six factors: temperature, humidity, airflow, air pressure, sunshine, and precipitation. In addition, development suggestions are proposed. The results show the following. (1) The areas with highly suitable climatic conditions for the development of the elderly care industry in China are concentrated in the eastern and southern areas of Southwest China and the southern areas of Central and East China, mainly in the Yangtze and Pearl River Basins. Slightly suitable areas are distributed around highly suitable areas, concentrated in the central and southern regions of China. Low-suitability areas are clustered, including an area spanning northern North China and East China, southern Northeast China, and central Northwest China, and there is another cluster in Xinjiang. The non-suitable area resembles a strip extending from Northeast China along the Inner Mongolia Plateau to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. (2) In Central and Southwest China, there are 57 prefecture-level administrative units with highly suitable temperature conditions that can develop an elderly care industry for patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Twenty-eight prefecture-level administrative regions with comprehensively suitable temperature and humidity conditions scattered throughout the country can develop an elderly care industry for elderly patients suffering from rheumatic and respiratory diseases.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Filzah Md Isa ◽  
Shaista Noor ◽  
Goh Wei Wei ◽  
Sharifah Diyana Binti Syed Hussain ◽  
Hairunnisa Mohamad Ibrahim ◽  
...  

Purpose Malaysia is considered to be a relatively young country as compared to other older countries such as Japan, China and Australia in terms of the ageing population. However, until 2035, Malaysia will be in the ageing group countries as 15% of the entire population will be above 60 years of age. This situation is quite alarming as more and more ageing care centres will be required to fulfill the ongoing demands of the ageing population. The elderly care centres in Malaysia are categorised as public (sponsored by the government), private, and charity based that comes under religious centres. Currently, there are about 365 registered elderly care centres working in the main states of Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak, two states of the East Malaysia. Due to the importance of ageing population issues, the present study is conducted to explore the demographics facet of Malaysian’s elderly care centres. The main reason behind that lies on the fact that many of these centres are still labelled as being not well equipped and lacking behind in trained staff, equipment and also suffering from severe financial constraints but some still capable of working on a sustainability basis. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative Research Strategy has been adopted, and 28 centres throughout Malaysia are included in this study. About 18 Operators from different centres and 15 caregivers were interviewed to get the holistic view of ageing care and facilities in their respective centres. Findings The results highlight that the majority of centres are not receiving any financial help from the government, and few centres are doing small business such as supplying consumable medical and non-medical items and providing renting and rehabilitation centres facilities to sustain. The caregivers are facing issues such as excess workload, less salary, peer conflicts and non-cooperative centre leadership. Originality/value The present study may help to provide useful information to the policymakers, which enables them to formulate the strategies for ageing care centres in Malaysia. As this study provides insight of components that have an impact on the overall wellbeing of elderly care centres, hence, it could help the care services providers to act as a rising star for Malaysian’s social life comfort.


Author(s):  
Mei Liu ◽  
Qing-Ping Ma

China becomes an aging society in a pace much faster than other countries because of its one-child policy implemented since 1980. This chapter examines the current situation of population aging in China, the government policies and regulations surrounding elderly care, and the experiences of other Asian and Oceanian countries in dealing with population aging. The rapid population aging poses severe challenges for the elderly care in China, which has not established an adequate social security system, but it also provides abundant opportunities for enterprises and entrepreneurs in the aging industry from other Asian and Oceanian countries as well as China. China can learn from the experiences of industrialized Asian and Oceanian countries and regions in developing its elderly care industry.


2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 17439-17444
Author(s):  
H.Y. Lam ◽  
Y.M. Tang ◽  
Valerie Tang ◽  
C.H. Wu

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document