Elderly neurological patients show willingness accept home-based remote monitoring

A recent study by the University of Eastern Finland Business School indicates that elderly neurological patients show a willingness to accept remote monitoring (RM) in the home environment even in the pre-implementation phase. Home-based RM uses digital health technologies to track patients' health metrics and securely transmit data to healthcare professionals at the clinical site. RM at home includes wearable devices, and mobile health apps that monitor key health metrics (e.g., activity, sleep, heart rate). RM is particularly appealing to elderly patients who wish to age in their own home while maintaining their independence.

According to the study, elderly neurological patients living with a family caregiver were more likely to accept RM than those who lived alone. Additionally, patients with higher education levels were more open to RM adoption. Also, those who had a caregiver present during their clinic visit were more likely to accept RM. Age, gender, and place of residence did not show an effect.

Conducted at the neurosurgery unit of Kuopio University Hospital in Finland, the study involved 30 patients diagnosed with a specific neurological condition, idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). The findings were published in the Home Healthcare Management & Practice journal, contributing insights into digital health adoption among elderly patients with chronic illnesses.

Patients in this study were introduced to the prospective implementation of RM in their home, and they completed a structured survey exploring the association between RM acceptance and six sociodemographic factors, namely age, gender, educational level, living arrangement, place of residence, and family caregiver presence during outpatient clinic visits.

Doctoral Researcher Melika Azim Zadegan from the University of Eastern Finland highlighted the practical implications of the study findings:

"Our practical recommendations include implementing educational initiatives that are tailored to different educational backgrounds of elderly neurological patients. Health policies should ensure that caregiver support is integrated into RM programmes by training caregivers alongside patients, providing them with resources to assist with technology management, and recognizing their role in RM with appropriate support and resourcing. For technology developers, collaboration with patient advocacy groups should be encouraged to ensure that RM solutions are designed with input from both patient and caregiver perspectives. This collaboration would help tailor RM solutions to the needs of specific patient populations, such as elderly neurological patients."

The study was conducted within the Neuro-Innovation PhD programme, which is funded by the University of Eastern Finland and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 101034307.