A person living alone and gradually becoming more and more dependent may stop doing his/her daily activities because of fatigue, despair or loneliness. For example, this person may no longer want to get up in the morning, feed him/herself or go out or this person may no longer wash regularly, which is often seen as a sign of frailty.
For family and loved ones, it is very delicate to approach these topics and ask the right questions in a caring manner. If one is able to obtain some information without having to bombard the dependent person with questions, one would be able to ask more targeted questions and make it easier to confirm concerns and tackle growing problems. Thus without rushing the person living alone, it is easier to find an appropriate answer in a timely manner.
There are applications combined with sensors that can be installed in the home of people living alone, like in bathrooms where a sensor would measure the brightness, the percentage of humidity (sign of a shower) as well as movement. A history of habits can then be drawn that shows when the person typically enters the room for the first time of the day or takes a shower. These applications are easy to install and could send an alert to family and loved ones when the frequency of use deviates from the usual standards.
What would be your strategy?
Photo by Olya Kobruseva from Pexels
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or comments on this article.