title: Smart homes and ambient assisted living applications: from data to knowledge-empowering or overwhelming older adults? Contribution of the IMIA Smart Homes and Ambiant Assisted Living Working Group.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  As health care systems face limited resources and workforce shortages to address the complex needs of older adult populations, innovative approaches utilizing information technology can support aging. Smart Home and Ambient Assisted Living (SHAAL) systems utilize advanced and ubiquitous technologies including sensors and other devices that are integrated in the residential infrastructure or wearable, to capture data describing activities of daily living and health related events. This paper highlights how data from SHAAL systems can lead to information and knowledge that ultimately improves clinical outcomes and quality of life for older adults as well as quality of health care services.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a review of personal health record applications specifically for older adults and approaches to using information to improve elder care. We present a framework that showcases how data captured from SHAAL systems can be processed to provide meaningful information that becomes part of a personal health record.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Synthesis and visualization of information resulting from SHAAL systems can lead to knowledge and support education, delivery of tailored interventions and if needed, transitions in care. Such actions can involve multiple stakeholders as part of shared decision making.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SHAAL systems have the potential to support aging and improve quality of life and decision making for older adults and their families. The framework presented in this paper demonstrates how emphasis needs to be placed into extracting meaningful information from new innovative systems that will support decision making. The challenge for informatics designers and researchers is to facilitate an evolution of SHAAL systems expanding beyond demonstration projects to actual interventions that will improve health care for older adults.
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, BNHS Box 357266, Seattle WA 98195, USA. gdemiris@uw.edu
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Demiris
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D040561:Assisted Living Facilities; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055991:Health Records, Personal; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000592:standards; D016852:Housing for the Elderly; D006801:Humans; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010358:Patient Participation; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life