scholarly journals Night-Time Monitoring System (eNightLog) for Elderly Wandering Behavior

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 704
Author(s):  
James Chung-Wai Cheung ◽  
Eric Wing-Cheong Tam ◽  
Alex Hing-Yin Mak ◽  
Tim Tin-Chun Chan ◽  
Will Po-Yan Lai ◽  
...  

Wandering is a common behavioral disorder in the community-dwelling elderly. More than two-thirds of caregivers believe that wandering would cause falls. While physical restraint is a common measure to address wandering, it could trigger challenging behavior in approximately 80% of the elderly with dementia. This study aims to develop a virtual restraint using a night monitoring system (eNightLog) to provide a safe environment for the elderly and mitigate the caregiver burden. The eNightLog system consisted of remote sensors, including a near infra-red 3D time-of-flight sensor and ultrawideband sensors. An alarm system was controlled by customized software and algorithm based on the respiration rate and body posture of the elderly. The performance of the eNightLog system was evaluated in both single and double bed settings by comparing to that of a pressure mat and an infrared fence system, under simulated bed-exiting scenarios. The accuracy and precision for the three systems were 99.0%, 98.8%, 85.9% and 99.2%, 97.8%, 78.6%, respectively. With higher accuracy, precision, and a lower false alarm rate, eNightLog demonstrated its potential as an alternative to physical restraint to remedy the workload of the caregivers and the psychological impact of the elderly.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Q. C. Truong ◽  
C. Choo ◽  
K. Numbers ◽  
A. G. Merkin ◽  
H. Brodaty ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objectives: This study aimed to apply the generalizability theory (G-theory) to investigate dynamic and enduring patterns of subjective cognitive complaints (SCC), and reliability of two widely used SCC assessment tools. Design: G-theory was applied to assessment scales using longitudinal measurement design with five assessments spanning 10 years of follow-up. Setting: Community-dwelling older adults aged 70–90 years and their informants, living in Sydney, Australia, participated in the longitudinal Sydney Memory and Ageing Study. Participants: The sample included 232 participants aged 70 years and older, and 232 associated informants. Participants were predominantly White Europeans (97.8%). The sample of informants included 76 males (32.8%), 153 females (65.9%), and their age ranged from 27 to 86 years, with a mean age of 61.3 years (SD = 14.38). Measurements: The Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q) and the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE). Results: The IQCODE demonstrated strong reliability in measuring enduring patterns of SCC with G = 0.86. Marginally acceptable reliability of the 6-item MAC-Q (G = 0.77–0.80) was optimized by removing one item resulting in G = 0.80–0.81. Most items of both assessments were measuring enduring SCC with exception of one dynamic MAC-Q item. The IQCODE significantly predicted global cognition scores and risk of dementia incident across all occasions, while MAC-Q scores were only significant predictors on some occasions. Conclusions: While both informants’ (IQCODE) and self-reported (MAC-Q) SCC scores were generalizable across sample population and occasions, self-reported (MAC-Q) scores may be less accurate in predicting cognitive ability and diagnosis of each individual.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 630
Author(s):  
Satoshi Shimo ◽  
Yuta Sakamoto ◽  
Takashi Amari ◽  
Masaaki Chino ◽  
Rie Sakamoto ◽  
...  

Chronic pain and fatigue have negative effects on the health, ADL, work, and hobbies of the elderly. As the proportion of people 65 years of age and older in the population increases, chronic pain and disability research regarding this group is receiving more consideration. However, little empirical evidence of the association between chronic pain, fatigue, and physical disability between the sexes is available. This study investigated the association between chronic pain, fatigue, and instrumental activities of daily living among community-dwelling elderly people by sex in Japan. Concerning the presence of chronic pain, 61% of males and 78% of females reported chronic pain, indicating that many elderly people living in the community suffer from chronic pain and fatigue on a daily basis. The number of sites of chronic pain was higher in females than in males (p = 0.016), with more chronic pain in the knees (p < 0.001) and upper arms (p = 0.014). Regarding chronic pain, males showed a higher correlation with QuickDASH-DS (rs = 0.433, p = 0.017) and QuickDASH-SM (rs = 0.643, p = 0.018) than females. Furthermore, fatigue also showed a higher correlation with QuickDASH-W (rs = 0.531, p = 0.003) in males than in females. These results indicate that the association between chronic pain, fatigue, and QuickDASH differed between the sexes among community-dwelling elderly people in Japan. A better understanding of the risk factors for elderly chronic pain and fatigue among sexes will facilitate the development of elderly healthcare welfare and policies.


BMC Urology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Yin Yow ◽  
John Jeh Lung Tiong ◽  
Chun-Wai Mai ◽  
Esther van der Werf ◽  
Zulkifli Md Zainuddin ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Nocturia is widely prevalent condition with detrimental effects on quality of life and general health. In Malaysia, there is a lack of up-to-date prevalence study on nocturia. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of nocturia and awareness pertaining to nocturia among Malaysian adults. Methods A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted among Malaysian adults aged ≥ 18 years old. The data was collected by mixed mode self-administered questionnaire from May 2019 to September 2019. Nocturia was defined as one or more voids at night. Results There were a total of 4616 respondents with 74.5% of response rate. The overall prevalence of nocturia among Malaysian adults was found to be 57.3%. In multivariate analysis, respondents aged 31–40 (1.91 [1.52–2.40]) or > 60 years old (2.03 [1.48–2.71]), and those who presented with hypertension (2.84 [2.28–3.53]), diabetes mellitus (1.78 [1.42–2.25]), renal disease (3.58 [1.93–6.63]) or overactive bladder (1.61 [1.10–2.35]) were associated with higher prevalence of nocturia. A significantly lower disease prevalence (p < 0.05) was noted among those aged 41–50 (0.73 [0.59–0.91]), male (0.78 [0.69–0.88]) and Chinese (0.47 [0.30–0.74]) or Indian (0.34 [0.21–0.54]) ethnicities. A total of 37.3% of respondents with nocturia reported that they faced sleeping difficulty about half the time or more after waking up in the middle of night. Those who had ≥ 2 voids per night experienced significantly higher mean bother score than those who had 1 void per night (p < 0.001). Approximately half (56.7%) of all respondents were not aware that night time urination is a medical condition. Only 25.2% of respondents with nocturia had sought medical attention for their nocturia. Conclusions The prevalence of nocturia among Malaysian adults is high and strongly influenced by age, sex, race and comorbidities. However, the general awareness pertaining to nocturia being a health issue remains low among Malaysians. The findings also highlighted the impact of nocturia on sleep and the need for nocturia education to better address this disease.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 683-683
Author(s):  
Asa Inagaki ◽  
Ayumi Igarashi ◽  
Maiko Noguchi-Watanabe ◽  
Mariko Sakka ◽  
Chie Fukui ◽  
...  

Abstract Our study aimed to explore the prevalence and factors of physical restraints among frail to dependent older adults living at home. We conducted an online survey to ask about the physical/mental conditions, demographics, service utilization, and physical restraints of community-dwelling older adults. Either home care nurse or care managers who were responsible for the older adult answered the survey that were conducted at baseline and one month later. We obtained data from 1,278 individuals. Physical restraint was reported for 53 (4.1%) participants. Multiple logistic regression revealed the factors associated with physical restraints at home: having been restrained at baseline, having pneumonia or heart failure, receiving home bathing, or using rental assistive devices were associated with physical restraints at one month. The findings could be used to promote discussion about which services prevent physical restraints and what we should do to support clients and their family to stay at home safely.


Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 1787
Author(s):  
Ezedin Barka ◽  
Sofiane Dahmane ◽  
Chaker Abdelaziz Kerrache ◽  
Mohamad Khayat ◽  
Farag Sallabi

Healthcare professionals and scholars have emphasized the need for IoT-based remote health monitoring services to track the health of the elderly. Such systems produce a large amount of data, necessitating the security and privacy of that data. On the other hand, Software Defined Networking (SDN) integration could be seen as a good solution to guarantee both flexibility and efficiency of the network which is even more important in the case of healthcare monitoring. Furthermore, Blockchain has recently been proposed as a game-changing tool that can be integrated into the Internet of Things (IoT) to have the optimal level of security and privacy. However, incorporating Blockchain into IoT networks, which rely heavily on patients’ health sensors, is extremely difficult. In this paper, a secure Healthcare Monitoring System (HMS) is proposed with a focus on trust management issues. The architecture seeks to protect multiple healthcare monitoring system components and preserves patient privacy by developing a security interface where separate security modules can be integrated to run side by side to ensure reliable HMS. The security framework architecture we propose takes advantage of the blockchain technology as a secure and timely information back-end. STHM is a proposal that uses Software-Defined Networking (SDN) as the communication medium that allows users to access SDN’s different functional and security technologies and services. Simulation results show that the use of Blockchain for the SDN-based healthcare monitoring can ensure the desired flexibility and security for a very lightweight additional overhead.


2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Niures P.S. Matioli ◽  
Arnaldo Etzel ◽  
João A.G.G. Prats ◽  
Wares F. de O. Medeiros ◽  
Taiguara R. Monteiro ◽  
...  

Abstract Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. Efforts to determine risk factors for the development of AD are important for risk stratification and early diagnosis. Furthermore, there are no standardized practices for memory screening. Lack of knowledge on AD, perception of memory loss as part of normal aging, and poor socioeconomic conditions may also be implicated in the current situation of dementia. Objective: To evaluate knowledge of AD in a literate population of elders and correlate these findings with sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: A descriptive survey design study enrolled 994 volunteers from September 2007 to May 2008 in the city of Santos, São Paulo, Brazil, to answer a brief questionnaire consisting of 8 simple questions about knowledge of AD and worries about memory loss. Results: Greater knowledge about AD was associated with eight or more years of education, female gender and age between 60 and 70 years. Also, 52.8% of responders (95% CI - 49.5-56.0%) answered that memory loss is part of normal aging and 77.5% (95% CI - 74.7-80.1%) had never sought a doctor to evaluate their memories. Conclusion: Our study results reinforced that the first line of preventing late diagnosis of dementia is to act in health promotion, especially by targeting subjects older than 70 years of male gender and with lower educational level. It also provided evidence that strategies to promote physician initiative in treating memory problems are also paramount.


2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Areza Fegyveres ◽  
Ana Paula Formigoni ◽  
Cláudia Sellitto Porto ◽  
Maria Teresa Carthery Goulart ◽  
Mirna Lie Hosogi Senaha ◽  
...  

Abstract The Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly with the Proxy (IQCODE) was developed as a screening tool for cognition alterations. Objectives: 1) To verify the applicability of IQCODE in the elderly with limited schooling, 2) To verify the reliability of the responses supplied by the aged and their proxies. Methods: Individuals of a Community Group were evaluated using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), IQCODE and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). The IQCODE was applied to informants and proxies. Results: We analyzed 44 individuals, aged between 58-82 years (M=66.8, SD=5.97) with mean elderly-schooling level of 3.75, SD=2.82 and 44 proxies aged 44.5 (SD=13.3), with mean schooling level of 8.25 (SD=4.3). The mean GDS was 8.22, SD=4.90 and 13 participants presented a score suggestive of depressive symptoms. The mean elderly IQCODE score was 3.26, SD=0.69 and 3.21, SD=0.65, for proxy responses. There was no statistical difference between these means. On the MMSE, the mean score was 24.20, SD=4.14 and 18 participants presented scores below the cut-off. The IQCODE answers by the elderly in this latter group were more congruent with MMSE than the answers of proxies. Conclusions: The applicability of the IQCODE in a population with little schooling was verified in that the proxy-report was similar to the elderly report. We can affirm that the elderly answers were more accurate than the proxies, as they were closer to MMSE score. The inclusion of a greater number of participants from community-dwelling settings is necessary to confirm the results obtained in this study.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 298-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Vandepitte ◽  
Koen Putman ◽  
Nele Van Den Noortgate ◽  
Sofie Verhaeghe ◽  
Eric Mormont ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Dementia is one of the main reasons for institutionalization among the elderly. Few studies have explored factors associated with the caregivers’ (CG) desire to institutionalize (DTI) a person with dementia (PWD). The objective of this study is to identify modifiable and non-modifiable psychosocial and sociodemographic factors associated with a caregiver’s DTI. Methods: Cross-sectional data of 355 informal CG of community-dwelling PWD were analyzed. Several characteristics were identified in CG and PWD to be included in a multivariable regression model based on the purposeful selection method. Results: Positively modifiable associated factors were: higher CG burden, being affected by behavioral problems, and respite care use. Positively associated non-modifiable factors were: CG older age, being professionally active, and CG higher educational level. Cohabitation and change of professional situation were negatively associated. Conclusion: Although no causality can be assumed, several practical recommendations can be suggested. First of all, these results reconfirm the importance of multicomponent strategies, especially support aimed at decreasing burden and in learning coping strategies. Also, CG might benefit from information about support options, such as respite care services. Finally, special attention should be given to older and working CG. In the latter, flexible and adaptive working conditions might alleviate burden and therefore reduce the DTI of the PWD.


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