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Older Adults’ Perceptions of Fall Detection Devices

Older Adults’ Perceptions of Fall Detection Devices A third of adults over the age of 65 are estimated to fall at least once a year. Perhaps as dangerous as the fall itself is the time spent after a fall if the person is unable to move. Although there are many devices available to detect when a person has fallen, little is known about the opinions of older adults regarding these fall detection devices (FDDs). We conducted five focus groups with 27 older adults. Transcripts from sessions were coded to generate themes that captured participants’ perceptions. Themes were identified that related to two topics of interest: (a) personal influences on the participants’ desire to have a FDD, including perceived need, participant values, and cost, and (b) participant recommendations regarding specific features and functionalities of these devices such as automation, wearable versus non-wearable devices, and device customization. Together, these themes suggest ways in which FDDs may be improved so that they are suitable for their intended population. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Applied Gerontology SAGE

Older Adults’ Perceptions of Fall Detection Devices

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References (31)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2015
ISSN
0733-4648
eISSN
1552-4523
DOI
10.1177/0733464815591211
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

A third of adults over the age of 65 are estimated to fall at least once a year. Perhaps as dangerous as the fall itself is the time spent after a fall if the person is unable to move. Although there are many devices available to detect when a person has fallen, little is known about the opinions of older adults regarding these fall detection devices (FDDs). We conducted five focus groups with 27 older adults. Transcripts from sessions were coded to generate themes that captured participants’ perceptions. Themes were identified that related to two topics of interest: (a) personal influences on the participants’ desire to have a FDD, including perceived need, participant values, and cost, and (b) participant recommendations regarding specific features and functionalities of these devices such as automation, wearable versus non-wearable devices, and device customization. Together, these themes suggest ways in which FDDs may be improved so that they are suitable for their intended population.

Journal

Journal of Applied Gerontology – SAGE

Published: Aug 1, 2017

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