In North America 27% of adults aged 60 and older live alone, far from their children as opposed to 16% of adults in other 130 countries and territories. Loneliness has become a major issue for Canadian seniors, especially during COVID-19. On one side, during this period seniors were forced to stay isolated to reduce their risk of exposure to the virus. These measures definitely helped them to stay safe, but on the other side it affected their mental health and aggravated the existing chronic conditions.
Physical and Mental health
Social isolation makes seniors feel lonely and depressed. The stress and anxiety experienced by elderly population lead to the higher risk of heart disease, arthritis, Type-2 diabetes, dementia and even suicide attempts. The Health and Retirement Study conducted in the US over a 6-year period showed that feelings of loneliness could even be a contributing factor leading to seniors’ death. The risk of death for lonely people is 1.5 times higher compared to people who don’t have these feelings. Why does this happen? Stress was always an accelerator for cognitive decline, plus if we add to this fear of incertitude, disrupted sleep, mood swings and abnormal immune responses we could see the causality.
The COVID-19 period is also associated with a less active lifestyle of seniors due to the closure of sport facilities and isolation, which also contributed to the health problems.
Social engagement & access to healthcare
The seniors are fearful of leaving their house because of the threat of COVID-19.
The older generations used to interact with other people face-to-face, so with the new types of communication they feel frustrated and socially isolated from their families and friends. Seniors are even refusing to get help from the nursing staff at home because they are afraid that they might bring COVID-19 in their home. As a result, these seniors are not getting the type of care they need, and it is actually a big threat that needs to be taken seriously.
All the Canadian government could do in this situation is to ensure the seniors will not get COVID-19 by undertaking extra testing before sending healthcare providers to seniors’ homes.
Our Solution
SenSights Care Aging Solution was specifically elaborated for seniors at risk. The Remote Wellness Monitoring option embedded in the SenSights Care app gives opportunities to healthcare workers for remote monitoring to avoid unnecessary home visits. With our solution, elderly population can do their vitals screening by themselves using the tablet or phone camera. The accuracy of results is 95%. The results can be shared with the circle of care: healthcare providers and families of elderly adults. This is the future of healthcare where healthcare providers and family members can interact with seniors through video, audio or text messages, add reminders, share lab results, get health reports and analyze the data over time.
SenSights Care can also detect falls with its Touchless Fall Detection sensor without cameras and neck pendants. Having access to 24/7 support in the region* seniors and their loved ones can have a peace of mind. The big buttons, ease of use, our training for device use, 2-way communication with the circle of care and personal emergency response could reduce anxiety and stress level of seniors during COVID-19. And our Safe@Work solution with vitals screening and risk assessment could ensure that the healthcare workers visiting seniors at their homes in case of emergency, don’t have any COVID symptoms.
* Currently available in the Niagara region, but we are constantly searching for more partners across Canada and the US.
What is SenSights.AI Platform?
We are a North American-based startup that provides comprehensive capabilities for home care organizations to manage their senior care services using state-of-art AI and 5G technologies and allow for a greater independence. We are uniquely positioned as we are the only one with a combination of
- Ambient or touchless fall detection
- Device-less or contactless wellness monitoring
- Comprehensive Mobile, Tablet and Web Solution for Seniors, Caregivers and Agency
- Complete Out of box Telehealth and TeleMedicine Platform with integration with over 15+ smart devices and several leading EMRs/EHRs like PointClick Care, Cerner and many more in pipeline
- Over 40+ Data Scientists, Engineers and Medical Advisors to help integrate and improve digital transformation journey of our client with services, products and platform focused on senior market
We provide the best in class health platform for patient engagement, remote monitoring and virtual care. Patients are guided on smartphones, tablets and computers from preparation through recovery with the help of reminders, education and activity tracking. Providers can receive alerts, monitor patients and access analytics to deliver better care. Health systems use SenSights Care to improve patient satisfaction while reducing hospital length of stay, readmissions, and costs.
We would like to work with you to help you grow your business with our unique business model of sharing revenue with healthcare providers.
Book a consultation today to see how can help digitally transform your healthcare organization at https://sensights.ai/contact-us/
Learn more about our SenSights Care Solution on http://sensightscare.com/