Researchers collaborating to make the app developed by the University of Notre Dame accessible to the elderly are endeavouring to bring health care for the elderly to a whole new level. The app, called eSeniorcare, goes beyond simple data tracking and is designed to provide more encompassing health assistance to the elderly.
According to eSeniorCare project coordinator Kimberly Green Reeves, "eSeniorCare empowers our residents to maintain their independence by providing a framework for medication, nutrition and pain management."
With the eSeniorcare app, the elderly can manage and schedule medication, retain a medication history and set up medication schedule reminders. The eSeniorcare app's personalised features also include the capability of managing updates to missed refills and tracking medication change. The eSeniorcare app, the elderly may also be helped in developing and tracking health goals.
Through the eSeniorcare app, the elderly will easily be able to ask questions and get help from health workers via voice messages or text messages. This is especially vital to the elderly who have high-risk conditions and need consistent health attention and assistance.
Games are also incorporated into eSeniorcare to protect and enhance the mental facilities of the target users.
The medication management features of the eSeniorcare app were tested on 16 elderly participants for three months. These participants also tested the tracking features on daily activities across a period of seven months. According to the research team, the test participants were observed to have grown in technological comfort and literacy and to display lesser risk of depression through increased interaction with each other.
Pilot test of the eSeniorcare app's games, communication and medication features and health data tracking on 37 elderly participants, showed mental engagement and stimulation among the test participants. The use of communication features of the test participants and their care providers proved successful in cultivating and maintaining interaction and relationship with each other.
