Remote Health Monitoring for Older Adults and Those with Heart Failure: Adherence and System Usability.

BACKGROUND: Remote health monitoring technology has been suggested as part of an early intervention and prevention care model. Older adults with a chronic health condition have been shown to benefit from remote monitoring but often have challenges with complex technology. The current study reports on the usability of and adherence with an integrated, real-time monitoring system over an extended period of time by older adults with and without a chronic health condition. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Older adults 55 years of age and over with and without heart failure participated in a study in which a telehealth system was used for 6 months each. The system consisted of a wireless wristwatch-based monitoring device that continuously collected temperature and motion data. Other health information was collected daily using a weight scale, blood pressure cuff, and tablet that participants used for health surveys. Data were automatically analyzed and summarized by the system and presented to study nurses. RESULTS: Forty-one older adults participated. Seventy-one percent of surveys, 75% of blood pressure readings, and 81% of daily weight measurements were taken. Participants wore the watch monitor 77% of the overall 24/7 time requested. The weight scale had the highest usability rating in both groups. The groups did not otherwise differ on device usage. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that a health monitoring system designed for older adults can and will be used for an extended period of time and may help older adults with chronic conditions reside longer in their own homes in partnership with the healthcare system.

Is episodic memory performance more vulnerable to depressive affect in older adulthood?

This study examined how age, depressive symptoms, demographic variables, frailty, and health factors jointly influence episodic memory across the lifespan in two large, diverse samples. Hierarchical regression analyses from both samples showed that depressive symptoms negatively impacted episodic memory performance with the effect being more pronounced for older adults. Health and frailty tended not to be associated with episodic memory. However, the main effect of depressive symptoms tended to remain significant over and above other predictors, while the interaction with age was weakened with the addition of demographic variables. The unique contribution of this study is demonstrating that the relationship between depressive symptoms and episodic memory is moderated by age across relatively large non-clinical lifespan samples of adults. The findings indicate the importance of measuring and studying depressive symptoms during the course of aging in order to better understand the complex relationship between age, affect, physical functioning, and memory.

Supportive home health care technology for older adults: Attitudes and implementation.

Healthcare delivered at home via telehealth technology may save on both individual and societal healthcare costs. Three studies investigated potential attitudinal barriers to home healthcare adoption. Results from the first concerning adults' privacy concerns and mobile device preferences showed that attitudes clustered into 4 factors and that older adults, particularly males, showed less concern than younger adults about privacy. The second and third studies explored comfort with a wearable device and the role of aesthetics over 2-week and 6-month intervals. Results showed that older adults had stable ratings for comfort while wearing a watch device designed to collect data in real time and that aspects of physical comfort predicted use over a six-month time period. Taken together, the studies provide evidence that attitudes about privacy and comfort for wearable health devices are unlikely to be significant barriers to adoption, though first impressions are important for all age groups.