The Elderly Care Ecosystem (ECE) is an integration of various digital health technologies, exploring the areas of telehealth and predictive analytics. The goal of this ecosystem is to improve the quality of life for elderly individuals by providing tailored care services that adapt to their changing needs over time, promoting greater autonomy and well-being. With life expectancy increasing and the fertility rate decreasing, it is expected that by 2050, the population over 80 years of age will outnumber young people in several regions of the world. The growing elderly population has been accompanied by the increasing challenge of elderly individuals living alone or with other elderly person, facing difficulties due to declines in motor and cognitive functions, and requiring personalized care that puts pressure on health systems.

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Home / Publications / Publication

Homem e mulher a falar com um dentista online por video chamada

Publication type: Article Summary
Original title: Evaluating the Applicability and Utility of an Elderly Care Ecosystem
Article publication date: August 2019
Source: Springer International Publishing
Authors: Thais Andrea Baldissera and Luis M. Camarinha-Matos

What is the goal, target audience, and areas of digital health it addresses?
     The Elderly Care Ecosystem (ECE) is an integration of various digital health technologies, exploring the areas of telehealth and predictive analytics. The goal of this ecosystem is to improve the quality of life for elderly individuals by providing tailored care services that adapt to their changing needs over time, promoting greater autonomy and well-being.

What is the context?
     With life expectancy increasing and the fertility rate decreasing, it is expected that by 2050, the population over 80 years of age will outnumber young people in several regions of the world. The growing elderly population has been accompanied by the increasing challenge of elderly individuals living alone or with other elderly person, facing difficulties due to declines in motor and cognitive functions, and requiring personalized care that puts pressure on health systems.

What are the current approaches?
     Currently, health systems use generic, inflexible, and reactive protocols, rather than personalized, adaptable, and preventive ones. This results in increased hospitalizations, diminished quality of life for the elderly, and higher costs for the health system. Although technology has the potential to improve the lives of the elderly by promoting independence and offering support in various activities, technological services are often developed in isolation without effective collaboration between companies, which prevents the provision of integrated solutions tailored to the individual needs of each elderly person.

What does the innovation consist of? How is the impact of this technology assessed?
     The ECE emerged as an innovative concept with the goal of creating a unified platform that integrates various services to ensure that elderly individuals receive timely and appropriate care. This platform was designed to facilitate collaboration between various stakeholders, such as healthcare professionals, family members, caregivers, and service providers. Additionally, the platform integrates four critical types of data: elderly health data, elderly care needs, available services, and service providers.

     Building on this concept, the ECE evolved into a software prototype, incorporating four main subsystems. The ECE Manager that oversees the overall operation of the ecosystem, focusing on optimizing resources and processes to reduce operational costs and enhance the quality of services provided to the elderly. The ECE Information System that employs a variety of technologies to collect, store, and analyze elderly health data. The ECE Personalization System that creates detailed, personalized profiles for each elderly individual to tailor care services to their unique needs. The ECE Evolution System that utilizes learning algorithms to adapt and refine healthcare services based on changes in the elderly’s health conditions.

     The impact of ECE technology was assessed through a survey involving 95 elderly care professionals from 17 different organizations. This assessment utilized an adapted technology acceptance model (TAM), considering perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and other factors relevant to the acceptance and adoption of technology by elderly individuals, family members and healthcare professionals.

What are the results obtained? What are the main conclusions? What is the future of this technology?
     The survey results indicate a high overall acceptance of the ECE technology among elderly care professionals, reflecting a positive perception of its usefulness, ease of use, and potential impact on care personalization. However, concerns about ensuring privacy and data security were also raised.

     The article concludes that the ECE prototype and framework were well-received. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration among stakeholders and highlights the potential for the ECE to transform elderly care by improving service personalization and efficiency. Future research will focus on expanding the ECE’s implementation and refining its features to ensure broader acceptance and effectiveness in elderly care.

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Home / Publications / Publication

Homem e mulher a falar com um dentista online por video chamada

Publication type: Article Summary
Original title: Evaluating the Applicability and Utility of an Elderly Care Ecosystem
Article publication date: August 2019
Source: Springer International Publishing
Authors: Thais Andrea Baldissera and Luis M. Camarinha-Matos

What is the goal, target audience, and areas of digital health it addresses?
     The Elderly Care Ecosystem (ECE) is an integration of various digital health technologies, exploring the areas of telehealth and predictive analytics. The goal of this ecosystem is to improve the quality of life for elderly individuals by providing tailored care services that adapt to their changing needs over time, promoting greater autonomy and well-being.

What is the context?
     With life expectancy increasing and the fertility rate decreasing, it is expected that by 2050, the population over 80 years of age will outnumber young people in several regions of the world. The growing elderly population has been accompanied by the increasing challenge of elderly individuals living alone or with other elderly person, facing difficulties due to declines in motor and cognitive functions, and requiring personalized care that puts pressure on health systems.

What are the current approaches?
     Currently, health systems use generic, inflexible, and reactive protocols, rather than personalized, adaptable, and preventive ones. This results in increased hospitalizations, diminished quality of life for the elderly, and higher costs for the health system. Although technology has the potential to improve the lives of the elderly by promoting independence and offering support in various activities, technological services are often developed in isolation without effective collaboration between companies, which prevents the provision of integrated solutions tailored to the individual needs of each elderly person.

What does the innovation consist of? How is the impact of this technology assessed?
     The ECE emerged as an innovative concept with the goal of creating a unified platform that integrates various services to ensure that elderly individuals receive timely and appropriate care. This platform was designed to facilitate collaboration between various stakeholders, such as healthcare professionals, family members, caregivers, and service providers. Additionally, the platform integrates four critical types of data: elderly health data, elderly care needs, available services, and service providers.

     Building on this concept, the ECE evolved into a software prototype, incorporating four main subsystems. The ECE Manager that oversees the overall operation of the ecosystem, focusing on optimizing resources and processes to reduce operational costs and enhance the quality of services provided to the elderly. The ECE Information System that employs a variety of technologies to collect, store, and analyze elderly health data. The ECE Personalization System that creates detailed, personalized profiles for each elderly individual to tailor care services to their unique needs. The ECE Evolution System that utilizes learning algorithms to adapt and refine healthcare services based on changes in the elderly’s health conditions.

     The impact of ECE technology was assessed through a survey involving 95 elderly care professionals from 17 different organizations. This assessment utilized an adapted technology acceptance model (TAM), considering perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and other factors relevant to the acceptance and adoption of technology by elderly individuals, family members and healthcare professionals.

What are the results obtained? What are the main conclusions? What is the future of this technology?
     The survey results indicate a high overall acceptance of the ECE technology among elderly care professionals, reflecting a positive perception of its usefulness, ease of use, and potential impact on care personalization. However, concerns about ensuring privacy and data security were also raised.

     The article concludes that the ECE prototype and framework were well-received. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration among stakeholders and highlights the potential for the ECE to transform elderly care by improving service personalization and efficiency. Future research will focus on expanding the ECE’s implementation and refining its features to ensure broader acceptance and effectiveness in elderly care.

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