DigiSwitch: A Device to Allow Older Adults to Monitor and Direct the Collection and Transmission of Health Information Collected at Home

  • Authors:

  • Kelly E. Caine;Celine Y. Zimmerman;Zachary Schall-Zimmerman;William R. Hazlewood;L. Jean Camp;Katherine H. Connelly;Lesa L. Huber;Kalpana Shankar

  • Affiliations:

  • School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA 47408;School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA 47408;School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA 47408;School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA 47408;School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA 47408;School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA 47408;School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA 47408;School of Information and Library Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland 4

  • Venue:
  • Journal of Medical Systems
  • Year:
  • 2011

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Abstract

Home monitoring represents an appealing alternative for older adults considering out-of-home long term care and an avenue for informal caregivers and health care providers to gain decision-critical information about an older adults' health and well-being. However, privacy concerns about having 24/7 monitoring, especially video monitoring, in the home environment have been cited as a major barrier in the design of home monitoring systems. In this paper we describe the design and evaluation of "DigiSwitch", a medical system designed to allow older adults to view information as it is collected about them and temporarily cease transmission of data for privacy reasons. Results from a series of iterative user studies suggest that control over the transmission of monitoring data from the home is helpful for maintaining user privacy. The studies demonstrate that older adults are able to use the DigiSwitch system to monitor and direct the collection and transmission of health information in their homes, providing these participants with a way to simultaneously maintain privacy and benefit from home monitoring technology.