Framing the evidence for health smart homes and home-based consumer health technologies as a public health intervention for independent aging: A systematic review

Abstract

Introduction There is a critical need for public health interventions to support the independence of older adults as the world’s population ages. Health smart homes (HSH) and home-based consumer health (HCH) technologies may play a role in these interventions. Methods We conducted a systematic review of HSH and HCH literature from indexed repositories for health care and technology disciplines (e.g., MEDLINE, CINAHL, and IEEE Xplore) and classified included studies according to an evidence-based public health (EBPH) typology. Results One thousand, six hundred and thirty nine candidate articles were identified. Thirty-one studies from the years 1998–2011 were included. Twenty-one included studies were classified as emerging, 10 as promising and 3 as effective (first tier). Conclusion The majority of included studies were published in the period beginning in the year 2005. All 3 effective (first tier) studies and 9 of 10 of promising studies were published during this period. Almost all studies included an activity sensing component and most of these used passive infrared motion sensors. The three effective (first tier) studies all used a multicomponent technology approach that included activity sensing, reminders and other technologies tailored to individual preferences. Future research should explore the use of technology for self-management of health by older adults, social support and self-reported health measures incorporated into personal health records, electronic medical records, and community health registries.

A review of smart homes in healthcare

“…According to [91], all of the "effective" or promising research studies on SH have involved PIR sensors for data collection. The AILISA platform [65] utilized PIR sensors to monitor the activities of elderly people.…”

Public policy response, aging in place, and big data platforms: Creating an effective collaborative system to cope with aging of the population

“…Data show that aging in place can be simple and cost-effective while simultaneously offering substantial benefits to the individual (24,35). This approach can also meet the increasing need for improved quality of life for older people by emphasizing home-or community-based care for patients in the interim stage after the completion of acute-stage treatment or for end-of-life care (36).…”

“…For example, in some European countries nearly 50% of women aged 65 years or older live alone (23). In addition, many older people want to continue to live in their home and their community where they have been living for a long time even if they are ill (24). These changes are stimulating increasing debate on the role of the government and family in providing long-term care to many older people who need it.…”

“…To optimize their functioning, health systems could be redesigned to better provide coordinated and informed geriatric services that enable older people to age in place (e.g., at home or in the community) to the extent possible (25). Ideally, these services would be seamlessly linked with social and long-term care to provide a continuum of care that extends from home or community to institutional care (24,26). Core services would include prevention and early detection of disease, acute and (37,38).…”

Present and Future Trends in Consumer Health Informatics and Patient-Generated Health Data

“…In fact, in the past decade, quite a large amount of evidence has been accumulated with regards to the use of active and passive monitoring data from home telehealth and mobile health technologies, as well as from PHRs [5]. The role of PHRs has expanded in recent years, either as parts of electronic health records (EHRs) offered by providers, or through the enablement of patients themselves on some technology-based platforms for data collection and sharing, or for integration purposes.…”