At a glance - Falls in older people: The place of telemonitoring in rehabilitation

JRRD at a Glance

Falls in older people: The place of telemonitoring in rehabilitation

Khim Horton, PhD, BSc (Hons), RN, RCNT, RNT, PGCEA

This study examined older people's expectations of and experiences with telemonitoring devices. Thirty-five older people who lived in the community and had a history of recurrent falls participated. The 17 participants in the intervention group used a fall detector and bed occupancy sensor, which worked with the Lifeline home unit linked to a local community alarm monitoring service managed by a call center. The 18 participants in the control group used a standard pendant alarm. All participants were interviewed. Positive experiences such as having a greater sense of security and being enabled to remain in their own homes were reported by the intervention group. However, some found the devices "intrusive" and did not feel they were in control of alerting the call center.

Volume 45 Number 8, 2008
Pages 1183 — 1194

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