How ACTIVAGE is contributing to the Covid-19 crisis management?

DS VALENCIA
1- How the services already deployed in the VALENCIA DS are helping the older population to manage the pandemic

For relatives or informal caregivers

Information provided by ACTIVAGE DS VLC app allow to identify changes in older people daily patterns during confinement, thus detecting potential risky situations and the way that older people are adapting to new situation. Our solution increases their peace of mind even more than before confinement.

Some concrete examples:

  • Solution provides information about if their elderly is respecting the confinement and actually stay at home. Family member report to us the importance of the door sensor in this context. In order to protect the elderly, a physical separation between elderly people who live alone and their relatives (informal caregivers) is obligatory. This combined with the fact that elderly is the most vulnerable group to COVID-19 causes severe stress to the family members as they cannot go and check on their elderly. With the ACTIVAGE system they are at least able to check on them virtually and can see if they remain at home and continue with their usual routines.
  • ACTIVAGE makes it easy for families to check on the status of their family member and follow daily routines. This helps them detect if elderly miss a meal or if they spend more hours than usual in the room, in order to detect possible indicators of depression or cognitive deterioration. It also helps them to secure the confinement of the elderly, since due to the disorientation that the older people suffer after so many days without leaving or interacting with other people, there have been cases in which the elderly has left the house and the door sensor has alerted the family.

For older people

ACTIVAGE now more than ever transmits peace of mind in these moments of insecurity and fear, because they continue to notice the presence of their relatives.

For both older people and informal caregivers

In addition to the system operation, family members use the smartphones to combat the feeling of loneliness, through video calls from the family phones to the smartphones provided by the project.

2- How the current solutions can be scaled up for contributing to the outbreak management?

OBJECTIVE

  • Targeting the most vulnerable group of population affected by COVID-19: older people usually living alone, or occasionally isolated during confinement period. Both in urban or rural environments, far from their relatives or caregivers.

  • Including a possible new use case not yet developed, but possible to be further developed, provided and warranted by municipalities or regional governments (for specific protocols and civil responsibility required): older people living alone without relatives and concrete formal or informal caregivers.

The solution would allow:

  • Local and regional governments to attend and take care of more vulnerable population, mitigating effects on physical and mental health. An also a valuable tool and network to communicate with older people in order to suggest recommendations and sound information of interest during confinement (healthy habits, medicines, volunteering initiatives,…) both to older people and relatives.
  • Tackle with the feeling of loneliness and unprotection feared by older people in this stressing situation.
  • Giving peace of mind and decreasing concern of caregivers on their older people, by providing them with valuable information about evolution of their habits and patterns (sleeping, meals, physical exercise, respect to confinement rules, visits, and so on).
  • The network of devices deployed offer possibilities for social interaction between relatives and older people (videocalls, phone calls, whatsapps…), as well as cognitive stimulation through cognitive games.

TARGET GROUPS

Older people living alone and their relatives or informal caregivers currently participating are benefiting from DS services.

Also care service providers can benefit from new services to provide to their users.

Governments to offer new care services, monitor and reach more vulnerable people.

TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIRED

In the new use case that targets to older people without nobody taking care of them, a specific platform to manage participants, should be developed, along with protocols to properly run the service.

HOW TO RUN THE SOLUTION

For the current use cases already in operation, this solution could be extended and contribute to the rest of the elderly who live alone and cannot see their relatives. To reduce stress by not being able to see the elderly person and to be able to predict their state through motion sensors. The deployed technical infrastructure (tablets, smartphones etc) could also be used to combat loneliness (videocalls) and mental activity (brain training games) without any additional expenses.

The information gathered by the system as well as the comments from the family members will give us more information on typical behaviour changes in a pandemic and situations where elderly have to maintain isolated. This information can be used for further research and adaptations of support measures for elderly.

Obviously, if we want to increase the number of older people users, more equipment (sensors+ tablet+smartphone) will be needed, as well as a rate for SAAS and human resources to be covered for management.

Installation in a situation of confinement could to be substituted by online and video tutorials instructions.

3- Benefits for users

ACTIVAGE makes it easier for families to check on the status of their family member and follow daily routines. This helps them to detect if elderly miss a meal or if they spend more hours than usual in the room, in order to detect possible indicators of depression. It also helps them to secure the confinement of the elderly, since due to the disorientation that they suffer after so many days without leaving or relating, there have been cases in which they have left the house and the door sensor has alerted them.

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