Brief Report: Personal emergency alarms: What impact do they have on older people's lives?

Abstract

Personal alarms have many positive impacts on the lives of older people.

Personal emergency alarms: do health outcomes differ for purchasers and nonpurchasers?

“…Previous research has also identified that having an alarm can reduce family contact as the family do not feel they have to keep checking on their relative (De San Miguel & Lewin, 2008). Similarly, our study found that 13% of participants with alarms reported that it had had a large impact on reducing contact with family.…”

“…It has been commonly reported that users of personal alarms experience increased security, peace of mind, and enhanced personal safety from having an alarm (De San Miguel & Lewin, 2008;Johnston, Grimmers-Sommers, & Sutherland, 2010). These previous studies, however, have not involved a comparison group or compared the results of a standardized measure at baseline and follow-up, only collecting reported benefits at a single point in time.…”

“…These findings indicate that having a personal alarm does not always prevent a long lie and while there has been some research to identify the reasons for hesitation or nonuse of alarms in emergencies (De San Miguel & Lewin, 2008;Fleming & Brayne, 2008;Heinbuchner et al, 2010), no research was found that tested the effectiveness of different strategies to increase their appropriate use. This research is needed.…”

“…More recent research has explored the characteristics of users (De San Miguel et al, 2015;Nyman & Victor, 2014) and older people's perspectives on using personal alarms and reasons for nonuse (De San Miguel & Lewin, 2008;Heinbuchner, Hautzinger, Becker, & Pfeiffer, 2010;Johnston, Grimmers-Sommers, & Sutherland, 2010;Levine & Tideiksaar, 1995;Mann, Belchior, Tomita, & Kemp, 2005). While some of these studies have reported perceived benefits, there are still gaps in knowledge in terms of what impact an alarm has on particular health outcomes.…”

Tele-asistencia y tele-alarma para adultos mayores: experiencias preliminares en Mexico

“…Tele-care was shown to influence improvements in levels of depression, 4 in quality of life, 5 decreasing visits to the emergency room and greater adherence to medical recommendations, 1 support in the case of falls, giving a feeling of security and reduction in anxiety, 2 the perception of more independent life and, with relation to the caregiver/relative, more free time, peace of mind and security. 5 Give the effects that the tele-care program had, the majority recommended the use of these services.…”