Smart Assisted Living Essay

This paper presents research on requirements for Smart Assisted Living (SAL), so that elderly with a specific diagnosis can be supported in their aim to live longer in their own home. Based on a thorough investigation of the field and interviews with people from different target groups, we developed a list of requirements for the development of module-based technologies to serve the needs based on the specific diagnosis, phase of the disease and social demographic situation of the elderly. We are aware that the limited qualitative data does not allow a generalization of our findings but the modular components have the potential to form the basis for future overall SAL solutions, especially when more input is available from the target groups for diagnosed elderly.

1. INTRODUCTION

Both the percentage of elderly (in relation to this research defined as people of 55 years and older) as part of the total population and the average age has and will be increasing (1950 – 2050) [1]. The increasing population of elderly requests a growing demand on the need for care, and demands changes for the future health care system, states Dall et al [2]. Peek et al [3] add to this that the majority of elderly prefer to live independently for as long as they possibly can, even when their health is declining. Policy makers also favor ageing in place, to enhance the quality of life of elderly and to reduce the workload of caregivers [4].
One of the promising solutions to promote and prolong the abilities of people living independently at home in their old age is Smart Assisted Living (SAL) [3]. This solution comes from the domain of gerontechnology [5], which matches technological interventions, like sensors, to domains of human activity, like health and Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s) [6,