There will be more people over 65 who need assistance as the population ages. Those who aren't used to the difficulties of caregiving may feel overwhelmed by the responsibility.
However, technological advances have made it simpler for carers to organise their time and improve the quality of care they provide for their elderly loved ones. In this post, we'll go through four methods in which technology might facilitate caregiving for an older relative: 1. Scheduling appointments with a Google calendar or Alexa calendar, 2. Setting a reminder on a smartphone or Alexa reminder to take medication, 3. Ordering an Uber for a relative,
4. Using My SOS Family Emergency Alert service.
1. Scheduling appointments with a Google calendar or Alexa calendar,
Caregivers may find it difficult to keep track of appointments, especially if there are many of them. Using a digital calendar service, such as Google Calendar or an Alexa-enabled calendar, can be helpful here. It's easy to keep everyone in the loop with these calendars as they're accessible online.
For carers who need to remember to transport their elderly loved ones to appointments, tools like Google Calendar and Alexa Calendar, which allow you to set reminders for appointments, can be quite helpful.
Appointment reminders can be configured to sound at predetermined periods or intervals. You may set a reminder to go off, say, 24 hours ahead of time, giving you plenty of time to get ready.
Medication and mealtimes are only two of the many things that may be added to a Google or Alexa calendar. Helpful for carers who have a lot on their plates and need to keep track of everything at once.
2. Setting a reminder on a smartphone or Alexa reminder to take medication
For optimal health and well-being, the elderly must adhere to their drug schedules.
However, for the forgetful, it might be a challenge to take medications at the correct times. Medications can now be taken at the proper times with the help of smartphone and Alexa reminders.
Medication reminders for both carers and the elderly can be set up as alerts on the user's smartphone to go off at predetermined intervals. These alarms can be configured to sound once a day, many times a day, or at any other frequency the elderly person requires. If an older person, for instance, needs to take their prescription at 7.30 a.m., 12.30 p.m., and 7.30 p.m. daily, alarms might be set to go off at those times.
Caregivers and the elderly can use Alexa reminders to ensure they take their medications on time. Voice commands make it easy to set up these reminders, which may be tailored to the individual's needs as they age. An elderly person or a family member, for instance, can set up reminders with Alexa for when they need to take their prescription throughout the day.
3. Ordering an Uber for a relative,
For the elderly, getting around can be a real hassle. Many seniors lack the mobility to use a vehicle, and navigating public transportation can be frustrating for them.
This can make it tough for seniors to get around town for things like doctor's visits, errands, and socialising.
Getting an older relative an Uber can help with this issue.
The Uber app provides a way to get a ride with other people. It's a cheap and easy method to travel around, and the elderly who can't get around without assistance can really benefit from it.
You'll need to install the Uber app on your phone in order to arrange for the service to pick up an elderly relative. Accounts and payments can be set up after the programme has been downloaded. Once you've entered that, you'll be able to arrange transportation for your elderly loved one.
Set up regular transportation for your senior loved one to make life even easier. This implies that a ride will be reserved for them at the same time each week, which is convenient if they have weekly appointments or social gatherings.
4. Using My SOS Family Emergency Alert service
Older adults especially those aged over 65 have a are more prone to fall at home, nearly 30% of all accident and emergency visits of people over 65 were because of a fall.
To reduce the risk of falls at home, removing hazards like loose rugs, clutter, installing grab bars in bathrooms, improving lighting, and encouraging regular exercise to improve strength and balance is vital.
But if there is a fall, accident or other emergency situation, it's important that an elderly relative can call for help from emergency services, providing a mobile phone with a lanyard or even replacing the home phone with a smaller cordless phone can make it easier to call emergency services.
My SOS Family Emergency Alert App also provides peace of mind for the elderly user as well as their family, with the App which has been designed to be easy to use and understand by elderly people, means pressing a big red button.
The App can be set to call emergency services an in the background will alert family members with the location and important information about the situation.
The My SOS Family emergency alert service is also available on Alexa and Google Smart Speakers, simply saying "My SOS Family" is all that is needed to alert friends, family and neighbours.
The My SOS Family emergency service can also be added to a cordless phone or basic cell phone, simply by adding the My SOS Family number as a Speed-dial key, that could be added to a big button phone designed for the elderly with an SOS button or any phone that allows speed-dials to be set-up.
One speed-dial call and My SOS Family will contact family, friends and neighbours asking someone to help.