The jumps that we have seen in technology lately have been extraordinary. Even before the pandemic, there were no developments coming out, almost on a daily basis, it seemed. Now that COVID has revealed so many needs of the senior population to the general public, taking advantage of these advances is more important than ever.
According to the National Poll on Healthy Aging, only about 28 percent of people use an app to help monitor their health. This poll interviewed individuals aged 55 to 80. In all, about 44 percent of this age group had used an app to help monitor their health at some point, but a good number of them were not currently doing so.
This begs a very important question. If apps and other pieces of technology have so much to offer the senior population, why are they not being used with regularity? Why are people not running to this type of technology to help improve their health outcomes?
There are a few reasons why this is. One is cost. Many of these things are expensive, such as a smart home system or sensors throughout the house that can help detect falls or injury. These things help and no one denies that they do, but the cost of installing and using such technology is well out of the reach of the average individual’s budget. Even though they might help, it’s not realistic to expect all of those that would benefit from them to use such things. It’s just too expensive.
The other big reason why many technological advances are not used by seniors is because of a lack of thorough understanding. This seems to be the biggest problem that the respondents within this survey were up against. Apps can be difficult to use or understand, especially if you are unfamiliar with how to use certain aspects of technology. More education seems to be necessary.
Finally, it should be noted that no matter what advances and understanding of health we have, there will always be those that don’t embrace positive behaviors. For example, we all know that smoking is incredibly dangerous, yet people continue to do it. We know that exercise is important, yet there are many that don’t do it with consistency.
Even with all of the technological advances and gadgets in the world, there is no substitution for the human element of senior care. The smartest device cannot replace the comfort and love that a skilled, caring professional can provide to an older loved one. Regardless of what devices your mom or dad might have in place to help them manage their care, you might find that they are in need of some sort of in-person care.
This doesn’t need to mean that your loved one moves into a nursing home or assisted living facility of some sort. Technology has done so much to help keep our loved ones in their own homes for longer, and if this is what they wish to do, it’s important that we do what we can to help them stay where they want to be for as long as they can safely be there.
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