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Smartwatch Interface Could Improve Communication,
Help Prevent Nursing Home Falls

Poor communication systems at nursing homes can lead to serious injury for residents who are not tended to in a timely manner. A new smartwatch app being developed at Binghamton University could help certified nursing assistants (CNAs) respond to alerts more quickly and help prevent falls.

Binghamton University researchers Huiyang Li, PhD, an assistant professor of systems science and industrial engineering, and Haneen Ali, a PhD candidate, are developing a smartwatch application to improve communication and notification systems, which are often faulty and inefficient, for nursing homes. The proposed design integrates all of the existing safety systems at nursing homes, such as call lights, chair and bed alarms, wander guards, and call-for-help functions, and provides alerts to users. Through a process of iterative design and evaluation with prospective users, a final design was well received by nursing experts in geriatric care and at local nursing homes. An ongoing evaluation study shows that using this system reduces staff response time to alarms.

“The problem associated with not responding in time is that residents tend to stand up or go to the bathroom by themselves. If they’re not strong enough, they can’t support the weight. And if they have to wait, they will just get up and go. And that leads to falls,” Li says. “We wanted to design a better system that improves notification and also, potentially, communication in nursing homes. The improvement of notification will potentially help staff to do a better job and eventually improve patient safety. Whenever residents need help, they have a way to call for help, and messages will be delivered to staff in an effective way.”

Most nursing homes use a call light system, in which residents press a button inside of their rooms to send an alert and via bed and chair pads with pressure sensors that send an alert when a resident sits or stands up. When nurses are working down the hallway, they might not hear or see the alerts.

“With our system, we provide an informative and customized message for different alarms. The message contains the resident’s name, the type of alarm, the room number, and the CNA who is responsible. The smartwatch is worn on the CNA’s wrist, so it’s accessible at all times. CNAs can view the message, hear the alarm, and feel the vibration, whether working down the hallway or inside a room,” Li says.

Because the smartwatch is personalized to the user’s specific task assignments, every CNA who uses the app sees a different display. When CNAs begin their shifts, they sign in and list their assigned residents. When a resident triggers an alert, a message appears on everyone’s screen indicating who the resident is, his or her room number, and the type of alert (eg, getting up from a chair).

“The alert message is more informative than the existing system and, at the same time, it will help nurses to prioritize. We will mark or highlight alarms from residents who are actually assigned to whoever is using the app,” Li says.

“The CNAs are excited about this idea, and they are interested in this device. They would like to see the adoption of new technologies in their working environment because all of the problems in their current situations,” Ali says.

Li and Ali hope to test the system in the future using a high-fidelity prototype in nursing home environments. While buying a smartwatch for every employee would be an added expense to nursing homes, the researchers believe that the benefits of this app would far outweigh the costs, particularly with the increasing availability of low-cost smartwatches.

— Source: Binghamton University, State University of New York