scholarly journals Towards a Collaborative Model to Assist People with Disabilities and the Elderly People in Smart Assistive Cities

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-86
Author(s):  
Christian Moreira Matos ◽  
Vítor Kehl Matter ◽  
Márcio Garcia Martins ◽  
João Elison da Rosa Tavares ◽  
Alexandre Sturmer Wolf ◽  
...  

People with disabilities and the elderly face difficulties to fulfill their accessibility needs in their daily life routines, mainly when they have an emergency demanding speedy and specific assistance. This article proposes the SafeFollowing, a collaborative model to help people with disabilities and the elderly in smart assistive cities. The main contribution of this work is the specification of a decentralized model of ubiquitous accessibility, which involves public agents and volunteers to attend the users’ requests. SafeFollowing also allows the use of police vehicles mapping, in order to provide a specific follow-up in adverse situations of daily life. The model was validated through experiments in real case scenarios by 14 public agents and 11 elderly and people with disabilities. The results showed that 100% of evaluators (users and agents) stated that the model was useful and 82% of users and 100% of agents considered that SafeFollowing was easy to use. The experiments also allowed the learning of 5 relevant lessons on technological and usability aspects of SafeFollowing that are recorded in this article.

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 75-89
Author(s):  
Christian Moreira Matos ◽  
Vítor Kehl Matter ◽  
Fábio Viegas ◽  
Márcio Garcia Martins ◽  
João Elison Da Rosa Tavares ◽  
...  

In the last survey about the Brazilian population conducted by IBGE, more than 45.6 million of Brazilians declared that they have some kind of disability. Besides that, the same survey revealed that the number of elderly people has been increasing over the years and at that time it already represented 12.1 \% of the total. In this scenario, public policies that can efficiently ensure the rights of this share of the population became even more necessary. In the same manner, with the popularization of mobile devices, opportunities to develop new solutions are arising, offering more independence and quality of life to them. Ubiquitous accessibility support solutions have been proposed, such as the MASC model, which resorts to the concept of smart assistive city; and more recently the AccompCare, which predicts the monitoring of people with disabilities and the elderly. This article proposes the SafeFollowing, a model that enables integrated and collaborative acting of the community aiming to assist people with some kind of disability or elderly people. The SafeFollowing predicts the use of police cars mapping, in order to provide a specific follow-up in adverse daily situations. The validation of the model is also presented in the article, which was performed through experiments in real test scenarios.


1997 ◽  
Vol 171 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Hepple ◽  
Catherine Quinton

BackgroundDespite the high suicide rate in the elderly, there is a relative lack of information on the longer-term outcome of elderly people who have attempted suicide, particularly their psychiatric and physical morbidity and mortality.MethodComprehensive demographic and psychiatric data were available on 100 consecutive referrals to a liaison psychiatric service of patients over 65 years of age who attempted suicide between 1989 and 1992. Detailed follow-up in 1994 included the interviewing of survivors using GMS–AGECAT.ResultsOf the 64 women and 36 men, with a mean age of 75.8 years, 42 subjects were dead at follow-up; 12 were suspected suicides, five having died as a delayed result of their index attempt. Twelve women made a further non-lethal suicide attempt. All five male repeat attempts proved fatal.ConclusionsElderly people who attempt suicide have a high mortality both from completed suicide and death from other causes. The completed suicide rate is at least 1.5% per year, and the repetition rate is 5.4% per year. Those at risk of further self-harm are likely to be in contact with psychiatric services and to be suffering from persistent depression.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. e72642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne M. Lloyd ◽  
David J. Stott ◽  
Anton J. M. de Craen ◽  
Patricia M. Kearney ◽  
Naveed Sattar ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 383-388
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Popovac ◽  
Ivica Stancic ◽  
Ana Vukovic ◽  
Nebojsa Despotovic

Introduction. The growing population of the elderly people and a proportional increase in the number of the elderly with different types of disabilities, necessitates a multidisciplinary approach to the assessment of their oral health and dental treatment. The ultimate aim is to retain a pain-free functional dentition and decrease the risk of future disease. Material and Methods. A PubMed search was performed and the authors contributed their experience in implementing preventive and therapeutic measures. Oral health problems of the elderly with disabilities. Two main factors influence the oral health: multimorbidity and polypharmacy. Oral health problems expected in this population are teeth abrasion, teeth fractures, root caries, periodontitis and problems with wearing dentures due to stomatitis caused by Candida albicans. Oral health assessment and treatment guidelines. This article provides guidelines for assessment and treatment planning, taking into consideration multimorbidity, polypharmacy, dementia and capacity of caregivers. Preventive measures. Preventive measures are crucial for long-term oral health of this population, and this paper provides guidelines for preventive treatment depending on the degree of functional dependence. Prosthetic treatment. Although some elderly with disabilities are suitable for conventional prosthetic treatment, often there are contraindications and specific considerations that must be taken into account. Conclusion. Oral health needs of the elderly people with disabilities should not be neglected and the success of treatment depends on the education of dental professionals and cooperation with other health professionals of the medical team.


2009 ◽  
pp. 143-158
Author(s):  
Lina Pezzuti ◽  
Daniele Artistico ◽  
Paola Mallozzi ◽  
Monica Sellitto ◽  
Maria Vozella

- In this study we analyzed the validity of a new scoring procedure for the ADL scale on a sample of 44 elderly people living in a nursing home. We administered the ADL scale using two alternative scoring procedures: 1) the traditional scoring procedure assessed on a nominal scale (dependent vs. independent), and 2) a new scoring procedure assessed on a three-step-likert scale. To gauge the validity of the two scoring procedures, we re-tested our sample after nine months. The results indicated that the new scoring procedure is more predictive than the traditional one of the psychosocial and functional status of the elderly living in a nursing home. We found similar results after a follow up of nine months.


Author(s):  
Panagiotis Kyriazopoulos ◽  
Irene Samanta ◽  
Rania Christou ◽  
Anastasios Ntanos

The purpose of this research is to explore behaviour regarding the use of the internet by elderly people with movement disabilities. The study illustrates the ways, and the frequency, that they make use of the internet; while identifying the attitudes of non-users towards the internet. Quantitative research was carried out from a sample of 180 questionnaires divided into dyads (ninety users of the internet and ninety non-users) in order to explore and evaluate the attitudes and views of the elderly. The findings identify the factors that motivate older individuals with disabilities to move towards making use of the internet, and allow an understanding of the reasons why some of them are still distrustful towards the internet.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aelee Jang

Postprandial hypotension (PPH) is common among the elderly. However, it is unknown whether the presence of PPH can predict the development of new cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the elderly during the long-term period. This study aimed to prospectively evaluate the presence of PPH and the development of new CVD within a 36 month period in 94 community-dwelling elderly people without a history of CVD. PPH was diagnosed in 47 (50.0%) participants at baseline and in 7 (7.4%) during the follow-up period. Thirty participants (31.9%) developed new CVD within 36 months. We performed a time-dependent Cox regression analysis with PPH, hypertension, diabetes, and body mass index (BMI) as time-varying covariates. In the univariate analyses, the presence of PPH, higher BMI, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure were associated with the development of new CVD. The multivariate analysis indicated that the relationship between PPH and the development of new CVD remained (adjusted hazard ratio 11.18, 95% confidence interval 2.43–51.38, p = 0.002) even after controlling for other variables as covariates. In conclusion, the presence of PPH can predict the development of new CVD. Elderly people with PPH may require close surveillance to prevent CVD.


Author(s):  
Nadir Antonio Pichler ◽  
Helenice de Moura Scortegagna ◽  
Jarbas Dametto ◽  
Dione Maria S. Frizon ◽  
Milena Paula Zancanaro ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: To describe and reflect the possible relationships established by the elderly between happiness and money. Method: It is a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research, carried out from a semi-structured interview with 19 elderly people, in their households, of both sexes in 2017 and 2018, in two states of the South region of Brazil, through content analysis. Results: What emerged in the voice of older people unfolded into two categories: Money as a way of life and Money does not bring happiness. Participants indicated relationships between happiness and money because money is one of the conditions to meet the basic needs of daily life, but it appeared as a propedeutic resource for happiness. They also reported that the obsessive pursuit of money can generate fascination, anxiety and depression. Conclusion: The participants indicated that money is a means to live well and be happy and was not considered the highest goal of their lives. He is not a promoter of happiness, but can contribute to the pursuit of peace, tranquility and inner satisfaction.


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