Russell Campion

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Ambient Assisted Living Technologies by Healthcare Providers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The ageing population is considered to be a global challenge because of the reduction in fertility and the increase of life expectancy. In Saudi Arabia, the ageing population continues to age (>60 years of age) currently (5%) compared to other age groups. In 2050, it will rise rapidly to 20.9% of the Saudi population. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technology plays an important role in assisting elderly people to live in their home independently, longer, and improve their quality of life and health and in supporting their daily activities etc. The current research aims at examining the barriers that healthcare providers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are experiencing in the adoption of AAL technologies among the elderly. The study identified some of the challenging issues with the increasing number of elderly people among the population in the country, which has highlighted the need to use AAL technologies to improve the quality of life among the elderly. The research involved a Community of Practice (CoP) study as a method of data collection where data collected was presented and discussed in line with the existing literature review findings. A lack of training, the high cost of AAL devices and the associated Management Information Decision Control System and cultural barriers were the main challenges identified in the research. The research suggests that awareness is important to encourage the elderly to accept the new technology and its potential in improving their quality of life. Training on the usage of these AAL devices should also be offered to ensure that self-care services are encouraged among the elderly who, in some cases, live away from their relatives.

The use of smart watches to monitor heart rates in elderly people: A complementary approach

Heart failure is a significant concern for elderly people. Serious problems can result if elderly people do not take appropriate action to prevent medical issues. As a solution, smart watches can be used to monitor heart rate. These devices can also allow families, relatives, friends and health-care providers to visualise the heart rate data via a smartphone application or online website. Smart watches have limited functionality, and experiments were conducted to test the functionality they provide to elderly persons, including heart rate monitoring. The results show that there is currently no proactive action that can be taken when an abnormal heart rate occurs. This paper proposes a complementary approach using a knowledge-based system with rule-based reasoning to improve and enhance the services delivered by smart watches used to monitor heart rates.