scholarly journals A suggestion for future research on interface design of an internet-based telemedicine system for the elderly

Work ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 353-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young J. Chuna ◽  
Patrick E. Patterson
Author(s):  
Xiaochen Zhang ◽  
Lanxin Hui ◽  
Linchao Wei ◽  
Fuchuan Song ◽  
Fei Hu

Electric power wheelchairs (EPWs) enhance the mobility capability of the elderly and the disabled, while the human-machine interaction (HMI) determines how well the human intention will be precisely delivered and how human-machine system cooperation will be efficiently conducted. A bibliometric quantitative analysis of 1154 publications related to this research field, published between 1998 and 2020, was conducted. We identified the development status, contributors, hot topics, and potential future research directions of this field. We believe that the combination of intelligence and humanization of an EPW HMI system based on human-machine collaboration is an emerging trend in EPW HMI methodology research. Particular attention should be paid to evaluating the applicability and benefits of the EPW HMI methodology for the users, as well as how much it contributes to society. This study offers researchers a comprehensive understanding of EPW HMI studies in the past 22 years and latest trends from the evolutionary footprints and forward-thinking insights regarding future research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 1292-1301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles G Taylor ◽  
Stella N Min ◽  
Keshia M Reid

Abstract Objectives Drawing from cumulative inequality (CI) theory, the current study examined racial disparities in impairment as individuals approached death to determine whether proposed mechanisms hypothesized to fuel or diminish racial disparities at late ages were at work at the end of individualized life spans. Method Black–white disparities were analyzed among decedents using latent growth curves based on the data from the North Carolina Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) (N = 1,926). Results Consistent with previous literature, racial inequalities in functional disparities diminish at late ages. However, significant black–white disparities emerge as older adults approach death, exponentially increasing within the 2 years immediately preceding death. Further, these disparities are not fully mediated by socioeconomic status. Discussion The results confirm that CI in health outcomes is observable in late life among individual life spans, suggesting the years surrounding death may be a particularly vulnerable period for health inequality. Future research should examine how advantaged statuses translate to increased access to health-related resources that aid in maintaining greater functional independence until the last stage of life.


Author(s):  
Marc-André Delisle

AbstractThis article examines the extent and the meaning of solitude among the aged. A comprehensive study of the foreign, Canadian and Quebec literature was undertaken to prepare this document, but priority was given to the somewhat lesser known investigations originating from Quebec. First, the concepts most often utilized in discussing the phenomena under scrutiny were defined: solitude, social isolation and the feeling of loneliness. Then, the relative importance of each phenomenon was assessed, based on the available data. In order to fully understand the meaning of the facts observed, their causes were also examined. Finally, avenues for future research were proposed. This study suggests that solitude among the elderly is a more complex problem than believed. Even if the isolated and (or) lonely aged are in the minority, this does not mean that all their socio-affective needs are being met. These people spend long periods of time alone and this affects their lives. The problem as such is largely caused by the position the elderly occupy in the society and, in turn, this position probably influences their behaviour. However, gerontologists have scarcely studied this hypothesis. This article then highlights certain aspects of the solitude phenomenon which have so far been overlooked by gerontologists.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meriem Belheouane ◽  
Britt M Hermes ◽  
Nina Van Beek ◽  
Sandrine Benoit ◽  
Philippe Bernard ◽  
...  

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune skin blistering disease afflicting mostly the elderly and is associated with significantly increased mortality. Here, we conducted the most extensive sampling effort of skin microbiota in BP to date to analyze whether intra-individual, body-site-specific, and/or geographical variation contributes to the emergence of BP. We find marked differences in the skin microbiota of BP patients compared to that of control subjects, and moreover that disease status rather than skin biogeography governs the skin microbiota composition in BP. Our data reveal a discernible transitional stage between normal and diseased skin in BP characterized by a loss of protective microbiota and an increase in sequences matching Staphylococcus aureus, a known inflammation-promoting species. Notably, S. aureus is ubiquitously associated with disease status, suggesting that this taxon is an important indicator of BP. Importantly, differences in a few key indicator taxa are able to reliably discriminate between BP patients and controls, characterized by their opposing abundance patterns. This may serve as valuable information for assessing disease risk and treatment outcomes. Future research will focus on the functional analysis of host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions and the relevance of the host genome for microbiota abundances to identify novel BP treatment approaches.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kentaro Moriichi ◽  
Mikihiro Fujiya ◽  
Takanori Ro ◽  
Tetsuo Ota ◽  
Hitomi Nishimiya ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The importance of fall prevention rehabilitations has been well recognized. Recently, telerehabilitation was developed, however, there have been no reports on the use of telerehabilitation with direct support from specialists for fall prevention among the elderly. We herein reported telerehabilitation by carers educated by our novel educational program.Methods: Nine elderly people in two nursing homes were enrolled using our original criteria. Carers are educated with our educational program using telelecture system. Telerehabilitation was performed by carers following the instruction from rehabilitation specialists in Asahikawa Medical University using the telemedicine system every 2-4 weeks for three months. Carers were assessed with our original questionnaire before and after the telelecture. Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up & Go test (TUG test), Hand-held dynamometer (HHD) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were assessed before and after telerehabilitation.Results: The average number of times to perform telerehabilitation in all institutes was 4.7. Levels of understanding of carers were significantly increased after the telelecture. No adverse event occurred during the study period. Median BBSs before and three months after telerehabilitation were 43 and 49, respectively. Those of TUG test, right and left HHD and MMSE were 17.89 and 18.53, 7.95 and 11.55, 9.85 and 13.20, and 16 and 19, respectively. All results were improved after telerehabilitation.Conclusions: Our telerehabilitation program exhibited significant effects in elderly people as well as levels of understanding rehabilitation of caregivers in the facilities for the elderly people safely.Trial registration: University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry(UMIN-CTR)UMIN000041439, August 17th, 2020


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (Suppl. 4) ◽  
pp. 1259-1270
Author(s):  
Milica Vujovic ◽  
Milan Ristanovic ◽  
Marko Milos ◽  
Francisco Perales-López

In this paper we present a conceptual solution of modular panel for measuring health parameters of the elderly. The conceptual solution was followed by a study that analyzed the design and evaluated interface of the system. Modular panel contains sensors, processing unit, and interface enabling data acquisition and communication between the user and the medical staff. Positioning of the panel within the residential unit was determined by the categories of actions which it should provide and functional areas of typical housing unit. Interface design is based on a specific type of users and is on the basis of the type of data that should be collected and displayed. Evaluation of interface is conducted by using two user groups, where the first is made up of people older than 60 years and represents the interest group of the study, while the second group consisted of people younger than 60 years as the control group. The collected data were analyzed and the results indicate that the simplicity of the interface suits good to the users. Elderly users need more time to conduct certain commands, but most of them understood interface completely. The limitations of the system, such as lack of information provided for the users, will be considered in the future work.


Author(s):  
Claas Ahlrichs ◽  
Hendrik Iben ◽  
Michael Lawo

In this chapter, recent research on context-aware mobile and wearable computing is described. Starting from the observation of recent developments on Smartphones and research done in wearable computing, the focus is on possibilities to unobtrusively support the use of mobile and wearable devices. There is the observation that size and form matters when dealing with these devices; multimodality concerning input and output is important and context information can be used to satisfy the requirement of unobtrusiveness. Here, Frameworks as middleware are a means to an end. Starting with an introduction on wearable computing, recent developments of Frameworks for context-aware user interface design are presented, motivating the need for future research on knowledge-based intuitive interaction design.


Author(s):  
Zhenhua Zheng ◽  
Junling Gao ◽  
Ye Yang

Gender difference in the health of elderly people has become an important perspective to consider when studying their health. However, the gender differences in terms of “environment–behavior–health” from the social ecology perspective remain unknown. On the basis of survey data from Shanghai, China, including 2839 samples, this study explored the gender differences of outdoor environment–behavior–activity ability in elderly people from two aspects of the mean value of variables and the path relationship, utilizing the structural equation model analysis method combined with social ecology theory. The results showed that, at the level of the mean of variables, the elderly males had significantly higher mean values than the females in terms of individual behaviors, but had significantly lower values in terms of social behaviors. At the level of path relationships, there were similarities in that the health of elderly males was more likely to be affected by individual factors, whereas that of the females was more effected by social factors. Through the great positive effect of the high-level social behaviors, the health of the elderly females was progressively promoted. The study provided some useful insights for future research, aiming at promoting gender-sensitive urban design.


2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Chama Borges Luz ◽  
Antônio Ignácio de Loyola Filho ◽  
Maria Fernanda Lima-Costa

The aim of this study was to examine the association between social capital and cost-related non-adherence (CRN) in an elderly population, using data from 1,134 respondents to the Greater Metropolitan Belo Horizonte Health Survey. CRN was lower for those elderly with a better perception of attachment to their neighbourhoods (PR = 0.68; 95%CI: 0.50-0.94), with more social contacts (one to five, PR = 0.49; 95%CI: 0.30-0.80 and more than five, PR = 0.42; 95%CI: 0.26-0.67), and with private health insurance coverage (PR = 0.64; 95%CI: 0.45-0.93). Meanwhile, CRN was significantly higher for those with fair to poor self-rated health (PR =1.66; 95%CI: 0.95-2.90 and PR = 2.62; 95%CI: 1.46-4.71 respectively), with multiple comorbidities (two, PR = 3.45; 95%CI: 1.38-8.62 and three or more, PR = 4.42; 95%CI: 1.74-11.25), and with a lower frequency of physician-patient dialogue about health/treatment (rarely/never, PR = 1.91; 95%CI: 1.16-3.13). These findings highlight the need to take into account the social context in future research on CRN.


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