Technology has become an increasingly embedded part of life for many people-social media, answers to questions at our fingertips, news spreading rapidly, and talking to a friend or family member is just a phone call away. As we age, care for an aging family member, have a chronic condition, or are a healthcare professional in elder care, technology can be beneficial by providing assistance with activities of daily living and improving safety.
What if there were digital tools and apps to make daily tasks easier, promote safety, and improve quality of life? The expansive nature of technology has made these benefits a reality. From medication management to hearing and vision aid applications, caregiving coordination, and even emergency alert features, technology is always changing, and developers are creating new applications to support everyday life.
Navigating Smart Technology
If you are aging, or if you have an elderly loved one, or are the caregiver for someone with unique needs, this guide can help you navigate smartphones, tablets, and applications that can help overcome many of the hurdles associated with aging and chronic conditions. Simple adjustments to phone or device settings can improve the user experience.
Tips for Improving Smart Device Usage:
- Increasing text size (typically found under the settings and display options for both iOS and Android)
- Larger icons
- Easy to remember passwords and facial identification
- Quick access to a favorites list for phone calls
- Adding pictures to contacts for easier identification
- Remove unnecessary or unwanted apps
- Place the apps used most often on the home screen or favorites bar
- Organize apps within folders
- Increase volume for phone calls, alerts, ringtones, or notifications
- Increase contrast to help those with vision impairments (typically found under the settings and display options for both iOS and Android)
- Enable auto-brightness so that the screen is easier to view in varying lights
- Utilize the assistive touch feature (Found under accessibility in the settings menu, this feature provides a virtual button to perform quick actions and shortcuts to simplify navigation)
- Add emergency medical information-users can include personal medical information such as blood type, allergies, medications, and emergency contact information that first responders can access from the home screen should an emergency occur.
Health Applications that Can Make Life Easier and Safer
In addition to phone and device settings that can make navigating technology more user-friendly for those who are aging or have unique medical needs, what kinds of applications or apps are available?
Apps can vary by operating system and be free or paid, depending on the specific app and its available features. Often, one of the biggest hurdles to utilizing such apps is knowing they are available. This guide serves as a resource entailing some of the many apps that can be useful for aging adults or their caregivers.
Medication Management
Managing medications can be stressful, and potential safety hazards can arise if medications are skipped, forgotten, or multiple doses are taken. Utilizing apps to help manage medication administration can help decrease medication errors and give you or your family members peace of mind that proper medication adherence is occurring. Apps can provide a variety of benefits, such as medication reminders, dosage tracking, and even prescription refill reminders.
Medisafe: This app is centered around medication management and has many beneficial features, including medication reminders, drug-to-drug interaction warnings, synchronizing options for different family medications, as well as reminders to refill prescriptions.
Dosecast: Tracking and improving medication adherence is a major benefit of this app through medication reminders and tracking abilities, including complex medication regimens for those with chronic conditions. Additionally, it can store medication history on mobile devices.
EveryDose: This application focuses on helping users manage and organize their daily medications through medication reminders and recording which medications are taken. It also has features that provide medication-specific information, such as drug interaction warnings, drug images for easy identification, and can even provide weekly emails that detail medication adherence.
CareClinic: Health tracking and medication reminders are benefits of this application. It has options to sync data with medical devices such as blood pressure monitors, Google Fit, Apple Health, and glucose meters. It provides a way to track symptom patterns and triggers, vital signs, medications, and store personal information to easily share with healthcare providers. Other features include access to evidence-based care plans for a variety of health conditions, as well as the ability to store vaccine records, blood work, and other test results for easy access.
Vision Assistance
Smart devices have features tailored to help those with vision impairments or limitations better navigate their phones and tablets. Smartphone features can include VoiceOver, TalkBack, Text-to-Speech, and Speech-to-Text to help users use their voice to control their devices, send messages, and read texts. In addition to built-in features, many devices can have vision assistance apps downloaded, ranging from apps that detail ones surroundings to providing directions to a desired location.
Seeing AI: Utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), this app is able to help those with vision impairments interpret their surroundings. It can describe objects, colors, people, currency, and text, as well as scan barcodes, recognize faces, and interpret expressions and emotions, all by utilizing the devices camera.
Be My Eyes: This app pairs those who are blind or who have vision impairments with real-time volunteers, company representatives, or visual AI to assist them with everyday scenarios and see the world around them. Using the devices camera, volunteers can describe real-time events, read text, identify objects, read labels, and help navigate their surroundings.
SuperVision + Magnifier: Magnification and image stabilization are key features of this application. For those with shaky or unstable hands, this app can stabilize the image while magnifying it, providing unique capabilities and easier object identification.
Aira Explorer: This app connects those who are blind or who have vision impairments with a professional visual interpreter to help them navigate their surroundings. The interpreter is able to verbally explain what they are seeing and assist the user accordingly.
Nearby Explorer: Utilizing GPS features, this app can help individuals move around more independently. It is able to verbally explain the users surroundings to make navigation easier, including addresses, landmarks, and street names, as well as provide directions to get to a particular location.
Color Inspector: Helps users who are blind, low vision, or color blind identify colors using live video. This app gives users the ability to identify and differentiate between colors.
Seeing Assistance Move: Designed to help with pedestrian navigation, this app assists those with impaired vision through voice assistance, route planning, location tracking, and helping users move to and from desired locations. This app can be used offline without network coverage concerns.
NotNav and NowNav GPS Accessibility: This GPS system helps users with transportation by verbally announcing details regarding ones surroundings, such as street addresses, crosswalks, roads, and even provides directions to get to your destination. It is designed specifically for Android users.
Hearing Assistance
There are many phone settings and apps available today that can support those with hearing difficulties. Many devices have built-in subtitle options to help facilitate conversations, participate in public events, and other interactions. Additional applications can help further support hearing needs.
Live transcription: This is a live transcription tool that will translate conversations into readable text for quick, real-time conversations. It can also capture audio from external mics, be used offline, and speak typed text during conversations for those who may find speaking difficult.
Google Recorder: Designed for Pixel phones, this app converts audio to written text to make conversations easier. This app can also capture audio, such as music and laughter, and audio can be saved and trimmed for future reference.
Roger Voice: This useful app captions phone calls to make it easier to have conversations over the phone, whether it be talking with a family member or friend, scheduling appointments, or reaching out to emergency services. In addition to captioning phone calls, the user can respond through text, and Roger Voice will verbally relay the typed words.
Aira ASL: This is an on-demand app that provides American Sign Language (ASL) assistance in real time to help those with hearing impairments. Users are able to connect with an ASL interpreter to facilitate conversations.
InnoCaption: While keeping your existing cell phone number, this free app provides users with real-time captioning for phone calls through automated captioning technology or live captioners.
CaptionMate: A free app funded by the Federal Communications Commission, this real-time captioning service can assist those with hearing impairments navigate school, work, and everyday conversations. This app transcribes both sides of a phone call to make conversations easy and efficient. It can be used on a wide variety of devices, including a tablet, smartphone, landline, or computer.
Hear Boost: This app helps users amplify sound, both near and far, up to 200 times your microphones range. It can be used by those with hearing difficulties, as well as those who want to amplify sounds, such as students, journalists, and others. This app also has recording features to store audio, and can also be used with any Bluetooth headset.
Hearing Aid Compatible Apps: One of the great technological advancements in hearing improvements has been connecting hearing aids to smartphones. Specific types of hearing aids, such as Infinio or Signia hearing aids, have associated apps that link the users hearing aid to the users device. Phone calls and notifications can be heard directly through the hearing aid, expanding the capabilities of hearing devices.
Chronic Conditions or Diseases
Whether someone is aging or finds themselves living with a chronic condition or disease, managing daily life can pose unique challenges. There are many apps available to help manage symptoms, aid with daily interactions or tasks, and make living with a chronic condition more manageable.
Stabyl: This app is designed specifically for those with Parkinsons disease and assists with managing tremors. This app uses counter-movements to adjust for tremors when using smartphones, navigating apps, and communicating on devices, making it easier for the user to navigate their device.
Its Done: The purpose of this app is to help individuals remember their to-do lists and record when tasks are done. This is helpful for anyone, but can be very beneficial for those with memory impairments. It decreases worry tied to forgetting important tasks, whether its turning off the stove, taking medications, or paying bills.
Iridis: A dementia-focused app, Iridis helps to create the best home environment for those with dementia, including suggestions pertaining to home reorganization, noise reduction, furnishing, lighting, etc.
Constant Therapy: This is a speech and therapy app designed for those who have neurological complications due to or associated with conditions such as strokes, Parkinsons, dementia, or are recovering from traumatic brain injuries. It provides opportunities to practice speech and cognitive therapy exercises.
Access Now: Locate restaurants, hotels, stores, and other public places with accessibility features using this app. It helps users to find and share accessibility information to make everyday life easier to navigate for those who need accessibility-friendly features.
FuelService: An app designed for disabled drivers, FuelService helps drivers locate gas stations that have assistance available, notify them when you have arrived, and receive the necessary help required.
Flaredown: This app was created to help those with chronic conditions monitor symptoms, track medications, provide a visual health history, be a part of a community, as well as identify triggers and manage treatments.
Talkitt: This app is designed for those with speaking and pronunciation difficulties, such as those who have been affected by a stroke, cerebral palsy, or dementia. It allows for those with speaking disabilities to communicate with those around them by using technology to decipher the sounds spoken by the individual using pattern recognition.
Memory and Cognitive Support
Enhancing and preserving cognitive function is extremely beneficial to the human mind and improves memory. Applications can help provide training, games, and exercises to enhance cognitive abilities.
Elevate: Provides science-backed brain games to strengthen reading, writing, math, speaking, and memory.
Luminosity: An app to encourage brain training and cognitive skills, including problem solving, working, short-term memory, fluid reasoning, processing speed, and overall cognitive function. The program is able to adapt to the individual users strengths and weaknesses.
CogniFit: This app provides brain games to maintain and improve cognitive health, as well as monitor brain development and identify any potential issues with cognitive functioning.
Mental Health
Insight Timer: This app provides guided meditations and talks, sleep and musical tracks, discussion groups, and community features, with new content added daily. It is designed to help with sleep, anxiety, and overall well-being.
SingFit: Designed by musical therapists, this app provides therapeutic music for users, including those with Alzheimers, dementia, aphasia, cognitive decline, and Parkinsons disease. They even have options for caregivers or family members of those with cognitive decline.
Safety and Geolocating
Smartphones can have emergency contact and health information stored for first responders, as well as emergency call options. It is best to research emergency features pertaining to your specific phone to maximize the safety options that are available.
Android Emergency Location Service (ESL): ESL is able to quickly send detailed location information to emergency services when a user calls or texts an emergency number. Having a more exact location enables emergency responders to improve response time by quickly locating the individual in distress.
ICE: ICE, which stands for In Case of Emergency, is a personal safety app that stores medical information for healthcare professionals or emergency responders to access, allows users to share their location in real time, stores emergency contacts, helps identify nearby hospitals and police stations, as well as provides health tips and self-defense techniques.
Senior Safety: This app has multiple features that support the safety of the user including a request help feature that notifies emergency contacts of the need for assistance through text and email, a sound alarm feature that notifies those around them of their need for help, a fall alert feature that tracks falls as well as identifies falls, location monitoring, and inactivity trackers to notify selected contacts if the device has been inactive for extended periods of time that could be indicative of injury.
Find my Friends: Using this app, users can share their locations with selected contacts and can follow the locations of family members or friends who have given approval. Users can also set up location-based alerts when someone leaves or arrives at a specific location. Locations can be shared permanently or temporarily. Geolocating can provide individuals with reassurance as to the whereabouts of their loved ones.
Life 360: Users can locate family members in real-time, get alerts when they arrive at desired locations or do not arrive at expected locations, receive notifications of severe weather, as well as have trackers available for purchase to track items such as a wallet, keys, or other important items.
Mobility Assistance
Mobility assistance apps can help those who have limited mobility that impacts transportation, as well as assist those with limited dexterity or extremity movement.
Lyft and Uber: These apps help users request transportation from paid individuals who use their personal vehicles to transport those who request the apps services. This is beneficial for those who do not have a means of transportation, are unable to drive, or need to be dropped off at locations such as the airport or train station. Users should always be aware of their surroundings and when accepting a ride from others.
Google Maps: Not only can this app provide directions to desired locations or help locate amenities such as gas stations, restaurants, and specific addresses, users can also save their parking locations so that they can find it later. To save your parking location, click on the blue dot that shows your location and select set as parking location. Afterwards, when you are ready to return to your car, click the blue directions icon and navigate to the saved location.
Wheel Mate: This app helps those who require wheelchair assistance find wheelchair-friendly restrooms and parking spaces. Users add and verify such locations, helping community members locate easily accessible amenities.
Nymbl Training: Eligible users can gain access to this app through health insurance providers. Features include fall prevention, balance training tools and exercises, fall risk assessments, balance screenings, and brain games that can help prevent wandering.
Google Voice: This app is beneficial for a variety of users, including those with limited dexterity, by helping them navigate and control their phone. Through Google Voice, the user can instruct it to do certain tasks hands-free, using voice operation, such as sending a text or calling a family member.
Caregiving
Being a caregiver poses unique challenges as you navigate caring for an aging family member or someone with a disability. Challenges can include coordination of care, keeping track of medications, and communicating with other members of the caregiving team. There are many apps that can help streamline the process and make caregiving more manageable.
Carely: This application connects you to your care network, organizes caregiving duties, has messaging features, allows users to post questions, and reach out to others within the caregiving community.
Lotsa Helping Hands: Members of a caregiving team can utilize this online platform to communicate caregiving needs for a loved one. This platform includes features such as ride requests, meal delivery, caregiving notifications, collaborative calendars, and improved communication between members of the caregiving team. This free platform can also be viewed on a web browser.
Health Records and Healthcare Teams
Depending on your specific healthcare provider, health systems you are a part of, or pharmacies you or your family members utilize, many health organizations have applications or platforms that allow patients to view medical records online, access their provider notes, see visit summaries, view test results, see prescription medications, and even contact their healthcare team, including options to message providers. Reach out to your healthcare team or organization to see if any options are available.
Conclusion
Technology and applications apps can provide unique assistance for those who are aging, are caregivers, work in elder care, or even those who have a chronic condition or disease. Often, one of the biggest hurdles to navigating technology is the lack of knowledge as to what type of assistance is actually available. Apps ranging from vision assistance to medication management and caregiving calendars are available and can be utilized to make daily life easier, improve safety, and improve quality of life.
About Author:
Rachel Pugmire is a registered nurse and freelance writer. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2018, with a minor in gerontology. Her areas of expertise include emergency medicine, pediatrics, and pharmaceutical clinical trials. Medical writing has given her a platform to do what she is passionate about, which is educating patients, their families, and other healthcare professionals.
Rachel is an independent contributor to CEUfast's Nursing Blog Program. Please note that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog post are solely of the independent contributor and do not necessarily represent those of CEUfast. This blog post is not medical advice. Always consult with your personal healthcare provider for any health-related questions or concerns.
If you want to learn more about CEUfast's Nursing Blog Program or would like to submit a blog post for consideration, please visit https://ceufast.com/blog/submissions.
