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posted by mrpg on Saturday December 15 2018, @05:20AM   Printer-friendly
from the go-visit-them dept.

Phys.org:

[...] only 17% of their [elderly] clients currently access the internet. As Jack explains: "Family and friends often use technology to find out things for me when I am stuck. However, most of my friends do not have internet access. They did not use technology in their working lives, as they were either farmers or manual workers. They still just ring people up or ask their children or grandchildren to use technology for them."

Technology can help, as long as it focuses on helping older people with overcoming the concerns that hold them back from meeting people outside the house. Using the insights from the research, we developed an app that draws on open data about events and volunteering opportunities nearby.

Older people can create user profiles to set their preferences for events according to cost and location. They can then review the transport options and routes to the event on an age-friendly map which includes the location of bus stops and car parks as well as nearby toilets and benches. If they select an event they want to attend, it's recorded in a calendar. The app can also be accessed by family, friends or carers who can search and plan on their behalf. This allows for the app to also be beneficial to older adults that do not have internet access.

But, even with this support, it's striking how few listings of events and transport options were available for older people over the festive period. Without more efforts to remedy the crisis of loneliness and isolation in the elderly, the festive season may still be anything but a season of cheer for many.

If kids and grandkids can't go to grandma's house, an app can help grandma come to them?


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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday December 15 2018, @12:46PM (2 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday December 15 2018, @12:46PM (#774750) Journal

    What happened to giving them fake social interaction?

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  • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Saturday December 15 2018, @05:33PM

    by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 15 2018, @05:33PM (#774837) Journal

    It's not ready yet. It *is* being worked on heavily, but when it gets here you may need to speak Japanese to take advantage of it.

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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday December 15 2018, @06:38PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 15 2018, @06:38PM (#774864) Journal

    Either the Brownies or the Cub Scouts will come sing Christmas carols for them. That should be enough social interaction, shouldn't it?

    Sidenote: My stepmom and stepdad were part of a little Christian band. All the members were members of the same congregation, they all liked to play music, so they just got together and started playing and singing. They would do a couple hymns now and then, but it was mostly folk music, and country music. They got comfortable with each other, then asked, "Where do we perform? This ain't Rock & Roll, and we ain't the Beatles." So, every other weekend, they would go to one nursing home or another, and sing to the old folk. On a rare occassion, I would get dragged along. I'm no singer, and the only thing I can play is a radio, but I got dragged anyway. It wasn't bad - but I really did have more pressing things to do, like chasing after girls.