Task 1: Technology Can Be Used to Assist Users of Health and Social Care Services in Living Independently

In today’s life, people use technology to live a better life. Mobile phones and email along with internet has brought a revolution in communication. This same technology can help disable people to access health and social care support and can help them to live independently. Before this, disable people had to depend on others for everything. However, because of technology or assistive technology now that dependency is shifting towards independent living. On the other hand, some people also argue that all the technical innovations that are helping disabled people are ethically not sound. They also stated that these technical innovations are hampering the personal rights of the disabled people and they are losing their privacy. Besides, in addition to ethical problems, there are several barriers of using assistive technologies. This research work perfectly fits into this significant agenda. Through this report, it will be possible to investigate the uses of current technology that can help a disabled person to live an independent life. Not only, disabled people but also health care workers and family members of disabled people can gain number of benefits of such technological innovations. However, it is important for them to understand the technologies that are available and how independence can be assisted using such technology. Besides, they must also learn the barriers and implications when such technology is introduced. This report also contains evidence on how these technologies are impacting health and social care services. Through provided case studies, in this report, a complete investigation is provided which will help to understand whether assistive technology is doing any good or not.

Activity 1.1: Technology can be used to assist users of health and social care services in living independently

Independent living is known as a philosophy and a way of looking at society and disability, and a worldwide movement of people with disabilities working for similar opportunities, self-respected and self-determination. A lot of people are there with different disabilities; however, still they prefer to stay independently. People, who are disabled, live independently with the same amount of freedom just like the normal people live with. In the case of independent living, disabled people try to work out some other alternatives in life and work towards enhancement of their self-respect and determination. However, it is also true that appropriate assistance is required from family and friends that will facilitate a successful independent living.

People with disabilities who use the services of health and social care become the users of health and social care services. When a person is sick he is expected to visit his general practitioner. However, social care services are not only limited to general practitioners. People can use social care services from their homes. There are several other places from where one can receive social care services such as schools, hospitals, nursing homes, day care centers and work places. Patients who are availing such services delivered by health care centers are the users of such services. On the other hand, disabled people have similar rights to use the services of health and social care services. In the case of Valentine, she can use several technologies such as GPS location and tracking devices, picture phones, and electrical use monitoring and medication management to deal with her problems related to dementia.

Activity 1.1: How Assistive Technology Supports Independent Living for Disabled People

Some major areas where assistive technology can help a dementia patient include safety, monitoring, communication along with prompts and reminders.

Safety: In the case of dementia, most of the equipments under assistive technology are primarily designed to assist security and safety of the patient. For example, in care home environment, motion sensor technologies can be used that will alert the staff members when a dementia patient is moving away from his limited areas.

Monitoring: In the cases of dementia, a person is prone to wandering and disorientation. The same technology of motion sensor can be used at doors or other exit points that will detect entry and exit and will alert family members. On the other hand, GPS tracking devices can also be used to monitor a person’s proper location.

Communication: Assistive technology such as video conferencing tool can help the patients to facilitate communication with health professionals and service providers while sitting at home. On the other hand, online communication is another assistive technology that can deal with the problem of social isolation. According to World Health Organization, online communication tools can help older people to enhance their heath and well being.

Prompts and reminders: The duration of assistive technology also incorporates individual solutions that can optimistically impact self-assurance, healthiness and well being. The biggest example of this could be automatic medication dispenser. This assistive tool can help people suffering from dementia to sustain medication compliance. On the other hand, direction clocks can help people suffering from dementia to deal with confusion about the time, day of the week and month or year. Besides, locator device is useful equipment that helps to find out lost items or properties.

Daily living: Assistive technology can also be used to support a person’s daily needs. These types of gadgets can include temperature sensors for automatic climate control, activation of light, dishwashers, and automatic window, garden sensors for automated watering and electronic taps and toilets.

For Valentine who is an 85 years old woman and suffering with dementia problems, assistive technologies such as GPS tracking and tracking devices along with clock would be the best options. Clocks that are especially designed for dementia patients will be able to help Valentine to deal with her problems related to confusion about night and day. As a result, she will become more independent and will be able to control her daily living skills. From the case study, it is also seen that Valentine left her house in the early morning and no one knew where she has gone. In this situation, GPS tracking device would be useful. This device will be attached to Valentine and the alert system will be provided to her son and care worker. It will make sure her safety. For community purposes, picture phone can be provided to her. These phones normally come with clear buttons where it is possible to place photos. It helps the people with dementia to just the push the button next to the photos to call their relatives quickly.

Activity 1.2

Assistive technology is known as a broad term that is used to describe any item, object, device or system that helps a person to perform his tasks that they otherwise would be unable to perform. Assistive technology is a useful aid that can help and support the most vulnerable members of society to life safely and well at home or in a care home atmosphere. As per the case study the main concern here is the problem of Valentine related to dementia. Assistive technology can deliver several numbers of benefits to a dementia patient. Assistive technology ranges from easy to handle, standalone devices right through to complex, integrated systems that can a person living with dementia to remain independent as long as possible.

The Benefits of Using Assistive Technology

Before using GPS locator devices, it is important to have proper training and technical support. One of the biggest barriers of this device is its limited battery life. The care giver will have to charge the device regularly. The more recurrently a person’s position is transmitted, the more rapidly the battery will be exhausted. On the other hand, cost of a GPS device is ranged among $200 to $400 with monthly monitoring fee of $50.

Activity 1.3

The biggest advantage of AT to health care organizations is cost effectiveness. Most of the assistive technology and housing adaptations are less expensive in the long term than other traditional home care systems. As a result, the health care organizations can easily reduce all other cost by removing existing spending on home care. On the other hand, AT is home care organizations have allowed the management personnel to facilitate more secured environment for the patients.

Users, who have any type of disability, can have following benefits,

• Greater control of their lives
• Able to take part in daily activities properly and frequently
• Able to live with independence
• Improved self-motivation 

Activity 2.1

SOPHSS (Shelter’s older Persons Housing Support Service) provides house-related assistance to help people over the age of 60 to maintain their housing. The main purpose of this scheme is to help older people to stay as independent as possible. It also empowers individuals over 60 years old to exercise their choices and rights to stay in a safe and comfortable home. The Housing Act 2004 was established to replace the fitness standard that was previously used to decide whether a property is safe for human habitation with HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Rating System). In the provided scenario, it is seen that the site manager is only available for office hour. If any problem arises after or before the office hour then there would be no one to provide any type of support to the old woman. There is also The Supporting People Program that was released in the year of 2003 to deliver housing related assistance to older people to facilitate their independent living. Under this program, housing departments are motivated to work in partnership with their domestic health department and probation services to address the mix of housing and housing related assistance requirements of vulnerable people.

Activity 2.2

In the year of 2004, an Audit Commission report of UK stated that telecare and telehealth which are assistive technologies are able to provide independence living for older people by minimizing hospital assisting earlier discharge. In the year of 2005, the Department of Health released “Building telecare in England.” There it was stated that telecare offers the promise of enabling thousands of older people to live independently. The report was timed to correspond with the release of £80 million preventive technology grant. The launch of Preventive Technology Grant (PTG) was the first original suggestion that assistance technology may finally be painstaking as a conventional care option. A similar thing was launched in Scotland which was known as The Telecare Development Program with similar goals with PTG. Later in the year of 2009, the government released 5 year strategy that was called as “Living Well with Dementia.” Its aim was to increase awareness and understanding, initial diagnosis and support and living well.

Activity 2.3

Barriers to Using Assistive Technology

Service users:

As mentioned by The Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act Amendments of 1994 that was launched in the year of 1994 in USA declared that assistive technology can help the users to fight with their disabilities. Not only that, such technologies can help people with disabilities to have greater control over their lives. On the other hand, assistive technologies can also allow the disable people to participate in and contribute more frequently in several home activities. On the other hand, by using assistive technologies, disabled people can easily communicate with the people who do not have disabilities. In the provided case, through assistive technologies, the older woman can communicate with the care givers or with the security personnel of the complex in any emergency situation.

Family:

Health and safety of a disable member is the primary concern of other family members. For example, as the housing complex manager stays available only for the office hours, the old woman will not be able to ask for help in emergency situations. In this situation, one family member should stay with her for her safety, which will hamper the woman’s independent living. Through modern age technologies, family members of the woman and any patient can ensure the safety and security. For example, in the case study it is seen that an old woman is living in a complex alone. If she feels sick suddenly, then through assistive technological tools she will be able to contact her relatives in no time. Besides, she also will be able to alert the support staff in the complex. It will make her family members satisfied that in any emergency she will be able to ask for help.

Housing Complex Manager:

The rules and regulations in the housing complex do not meet the regulatory policies of the government. The manager is only available during the office hours; therefore, people living in that complex will not be able to contact with him in emergency conditions. If the manager can implement assistive technologies in the complex, it will make sure that residents will be able to call for help in any condition. Besides, tools for frequent communization should also be implemented so that people living in the complex can interact with the manager.

Care Professional:

With the help of emerging and recent assistive technical tools, the health and social care workers will not have to waste time for monitoring a patient frequently. However, it is also true that they will have to undergo training sessions to establish skills and knowledge to operate and understand those equipments. For example, if a health care organization is using Bluetooth Nany Technology to monitor the patients, then the care workers must know how to operate to tool properly. Telecare is another new technology that is now vastly used to monitor patients from long distances. As a result, care workers automatically get messages in emergencies. They do not have to stay with the patient all the time. 

Activity 3.1

A person, whose emotional state and mental condition is not normal, required special care. This type of person can be described as individual with special needs. Individuals with special needs require extensive care from family members and full support from the care givers. When an individual’s mental ability reduced, and then the person suffers from a disease called dementia. These types of people start to depend on others as their mental health is not in normal condition. They need support from those people who do not criticize them for their misconduct. A caregiver has to be sensitive and empathically as dementia, patients are unable to express their opinions and point of view. In most of the cases, these types of patients like go out and hang out with other people. In this case, caregivers should always help them in their outing.

The Effectiveness of Specific Assistive Devices

Valentine is 85 years old women, diagnosed with dementia. She is a sociable leady. She is also the chairperson of a charity. For this reason, she is also in charge to prepare a presentation for the charity. Normally, she used to wake up early to attain various activities during the day time. Now she is becoming more disoriented in her daily activities. There are some specific needs of service users can be found to support Valentine’s independent living. They are such as:

Personal Assistance:

Valentine must receive personal assistance from caregivers to take care of their daily habits such as waking time, eating and drinking habits along with medication. Care givers also have to help Valentine in housework, shopping, and mobility and transport activities.    

Night Care:

Home based night care service is also needed from care givers to look after Valentine during night. A permanent care giver has to be selected only for the night shift so that Valentine can become comfortable to being around that care giver during night.  

Palliative Care:

Palliative care should be available for Valentine, as she is suffering from dementia. She must has the authority to decide the place (home or outside) where she should be able to receive palliative services. A supervisor has to be appointed to coordinate all the services provided to Valentine. The supervisor always has to be available so that they can provide advice to care givers.   

Counseling or Therapy Support:

Valentine must receive therapy and counseling support from care givers. In majority of the cases of dementia, it has been found that verbal skills of patients deteriorate with the development of dementia. Availability of counseling and therapy support will enhance the emotional and psychological wellbeing Valentine.     

Holiday, Social and Leisure Activities:  

Helping dementia patients to maintain their remaining capability should be an integral part of the dementia care packages. Care givers have to take care of the social contact, exercises and meaningful activities, as Valentine was a very social person. Helping Valentine in her outings and taking care of her activities are also necessary requirements for care givers.            

Activity 3.2

There are some specific assistive devices can be recommended for Valentine to help her to live independently without taking help form her family members.

1) Valentine can use devices such as temperature sensor to indentify extreme temperature conditions such as gas or smoke. It will help Valentine to take care of any fire hazards without taking help from care givers or family members.

2) A mat can be put on the bed of Valentine. This mat will send signal or alarm to the care givers, family members and even to Valentine.

3) Locator devices can be used, as Valentine has the habit to leave home without informing others. Electrical tags can be used to keep track off her location, when Valentine goes for an outing on her own.

4) Hearing aid can be used to help Valentine so that she can hear voice of others clearly. It will enhance her verbal skills and communication skills.

Impact on Health and Social Care Services

5) Calendar clock can be useful, as often Valentine is not able remember the day.  

6) There is also another assistive device named as PDA can be used for personal digital assistance provided to Valentine.  

Activity 3.3

This task of the report is related with the case study of Valentine, who is diagnosed with dementia. Valentine’s family is concerned about her safety. It is required to remember that it is a mental disease that cannot be cured properly. Different kinds of devices of assistive technology have been recommended for Valentine in order to help her live independently and prevent her risk factors.

An individual suffering from dementia can use various types of hand held digital assistance to enhance his or her memory and daily activity. In case of Valentine, these types of assistive devices can help her to remind what do next. For example, usage of calendar cloak can assist her to complete her task on time. It will also help her to remember to complete all essential tasks throughout the day. However, the major issues related with the assistive devices are that they are tough to acquire and tough to acquire.

On the other hand, locator devices can be used, as Valentine has the habit to leave home without informing others. Electrical tags can be used to keep track off her location, when Valentine goes for an outing on her own. The major benefit of this device is that it can help to find out dementia patients in case they are lost. However, the major drawback of this type of assistive devices is that they can disrupt privacy individuals.

There is also another assistive service named as PDA can be used for personal digital assistance. However, this device also has some specific drawbacks. With the advancement of the disease, she might forget to carry it in her pocket and thus the device might not be useful to her anymore.

It can be very useful to Valentine as she is suffering from dementia. However, Walking cannot be very effective for Valentine as she is a very active leady. Computer devices will also not be very useful for Valentine as she is very old (85 years old). She will not be very comfortable to use computer devices.   

Conclusion 

After analysis all the facts related to assistive technology, it can be concluded that disabled people and their families can be benefitted from it. From the case study of Valentine, it is seen that she was losing her self-respect because of her problems related to dementia. On the other hand, the disease was also providing serious threat to her health and safety. Through GOS tracking device, clock and picture phone it is possible for Valentine to live a normal life. However, it is true that GPS tracking device is also a serious threat to her privacy. Several legislations and governmental rules and regulations are now established to protect the privacy of the patients while using devices. Therefore, it can be stated that it is not a problem anymore. Several number of assistive technologies are now available that can facilitate independent living for any disables person. However, it is also true that not only the patients, but also the family members of the patient and health care worker who are assigned to look after a disabled person must know to handle such devices. Their assistance is paramount to overcome the barriers of using those assistive devices. On the other hand, from the case study of the lonely old women who lives in alone, it can be stated that only technology is not sufficient to provide assistance to the disabled people. Rules and regulations must be tightened so that these people can receive better assistance, does not matter where they are living.

Case Studies: The Impact of Assistive Technology on People’s Lives

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