The impact of solutions for chronic disease prevention and management

Excerpt

We are now living in an era where lower-cost, higher-performance technology has the potential to become truly ubiquitous as it integrates seamlessly within our everyday lives. It could be argued that the realization of these concepts will be most significant towards promoting independent living and increasing the quality of life for the rising numbers of older people and with it, the prevalence of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. Such illnesses are placing significant and unsustainable pressure upon health and social care services across the globe. In an effort to help to alleviate some of these pressures, efforts are being made to investigate the potential to embed assistive technology within home environments and beyond. Indeed, studies have shown that older people and those with chronic illnesses often prefer to remain living within their own homes for as long as possible. A challenge in supporting their independent living is to ensure that technology driven health and social care solutions provide an equal quality of care when compared to institutional care facilities. Key to this success is the provision of ‘smart’ homes, which are able to provide automated and personalized levels of support, based on the profiles of each occupant. …