Understanding Social Behaviour in a Health-Care Facility from Localization Data: A Case Study

Abstract

The most frequent form of dementia is Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), a severe progressive neurological pathology in which the main cognitive functions of an individual are compromised. Recent studies have found that loneliness and living in isolation are likely to cause an acceleration in the cognitive decline associated with AD. Therefore, understanding social behaviours of AD patients is crucial to promote sociability, thus delaying cognitive decline, preserving independence, and providing a good quality of life. In this work, we analyze the localization data of AD patients living in assisted care homes to gather insights about the social dynamics among them. We use localization data collected by a system based on iBeacon technology comprising two components: a network of antennas scattered throughout the facility and a Bluetooth bracelet worn by the patients. We redefine the Relational Index to capture wandering and casual encounters, these being common phenomena among AD patients, and use the notions of Relational and Popularity Indexes to model, visualize and understand the social behaviour of AD patients. We leverage the data analyses to build predictive tools and applications to enhance social activities scheduling and sociability monitoring and promotion, with the ultimate aim of providing patients with a better quality of life. Predictions and visualizations act as a support for caregivers in activity planning to maximize treatment effects and, hence, slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. We present the Community Behaviour Prediction Table (CBPT), a tool to visualize the estimated values of sociability among patients and popularity of places within a facility. Finally, we show the potential of the system by analyzing the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown time-frame between February and June 2020 in a specific facility. Through the use of the indexes, we evaluate the effects of the pandemic on the behaviour of the residents, observing no particular impact on sociability even though social distancing was put in place.

Investigating socially assistive systems from system design and evaluation: a systematic review

“…They were often applied with computer vision technologies to capture visual cues and provide haptic or audio feedback. A typical form is using smart glasses alone ([ 14 , 42 , 47 , 53 , 59 , 61 ]) or with smart belts ([ 45 , 49 , 50 ]). Smart bands and watches are also very common solutions ([ 57 , 62 , 63 ]).…”

“…Sensor and device network technologies were applied in 11 studies. Apart from the multi-device systems that were used with wearable technologies ([ 14 , 39 , 44 , 61 ]), a large proportion of the solutions were distributed or multi-agent systems that were developed mainly based on a client/server architecture. The client devices could interact with each other online or offline, and their status could also reflect on the server device.…”

“…We found the great majority of these studies were conducted out of age-related concerns. Sixteen studies were targeted at older people ([ 21 , 22 , 61 , 66 , 75 , 76 , 78 , 86 , 91 ]) and children ([ 13 , 51 , 55 , 62 , 77 , 89 , 92 ]). Two studies aimed at designing communication systems for the people with disabilities, and they still recruited teenagers as their participants ([ 23 , 88 ]).…”

“…Most studies were carried out in institutions, such as care centers ([ 21 , 61 , 62 , 75 , 78 , 86 , 91 ]) and schools ([ 13 , 23 , 55 , 77 , 89 , 92 ]). Three studies on people with dementia ([ 61 , 78 , 86 ]) and one study on children with ASD [ 62 ] mentioned that their participants were directly recruited by institutions according to research needs. The participants of two studies were recommended by institutions and selected by researchers ([ 55 , 75 ]).…”

On Supporting University Communities in Indoor Wayfinding: An Inclusive Design Approach

“…Finding the appropriate position and direction in the environment is an important issue for human beings since a long time ago. In fact, many of the most important human activities are based on the capabilities of orientating and independently moving in the space and in the surrounding environment [ 1 , 2 ].…”