The present health care system is not equipped to accommodate the future needs of seniors, and elderly Home Care is challenged to redesign services to address those needs.
Recently, the term “design thinking” has become linked to the process of producing products specifically for seniors. This is especially true in the elderly Home Care industry. However, design thinking has a wider purpose: make product solutions for a more comfortable life. This concept holds true no matter if the user is young or old.
In response to this need, technology companies are creating an assortment of devices to motivate and monitor a senior population to eat better, get exercise, take their medications, and live a more engaged life. It is imperative to integrate these products into the daily workflow of the elderly and their health care providers to truly make a difference. It is useful for older adults to have carefully thought out products such as helping the bathing of dementia patients using as specially designed chairs or turning to technology to provide better medication management.
Design thinking is most helpful and long-reaching when it covers more than a single generation.
This thinking requires focusing on abilities and desires of a wide variety of users to meet problems with a solution that is universal. A good example is the popular Nintendo Wii game system. Everyone from children to seniors enjoys its outstanding design. It focuses on the strengths of its users, instead of on aiding their weaknesses. As simply stated by Kavan Peterson, Editor, ChangingAging.org, “Do not design based on decline.”
Ensuring seniors take proven medications that alleviate suffering, treat disease, and promote good health is another excellent example. One author describes design thinking as “an essential tool for simplifying and humanizing.” This type of thinking can assist seniors in adhering to their medication regimens by using technology to understanding end users and their environments. This article is a case in point of what design thinking is all about. Studying how patients take their medications is a key focus point in obtaining better health outcomes. Design matters, particularly in an aging population.
The elderly Home Care experts at Hibernian Home Care can offer tips on helpful items that work well for seniors. They can advise family and friends who care for them. Also, the owners of Hibernian Home Care are a Pharmacist and Registered Nurse. They specialize in geriatric medication management and reconciliation in the home, the best place to improve compliance. To learn more about individualized Home Care services in New Jersey’s Monmouth and Ocean Counties, contact us at 732-481-1148.
