A Technology Assisted Framework for Medical Emergencies Involving Formal and Informal Caregivers
Md Akbar Hossain, Sayan Kumar Ray · 2018
With the technological advancements, particularly real time access to medical knowledge-base and improved healthcare facilities, the average life expectancy of people has increased significantly. This has also led to an ageing population worldwide, which in turn has increased the demand for quality health and social care. Although, technological advancements have enabled the provision of sophisticated healthcare facilities for people, those are not always accessible to a growing number of elderly people who may live in isolation or may not have the knowledge or capability of accessing technology for healthcare purpose. These people need more prompt and personal care particularly in case of emergencies. Thus, for elderly people, there is a need to have an integrated infrastructure that connects both formal caregivers, like, paramedics, nurses and trained medical professionals, and informal caregivers, like, friends and neighbours with the purpose of providing prompt medical and social care when required. This research work proposes a technology-assisted medical emergency framework involving the formal and informal caregivers to take care of elderly and other people in need in case of medical emergency situations. Minimizing the medical emergency response time is one of the primary aims of this proposed framework.