Background

The project builds on experience gained by the companies YesGroup, NETomsorg, and Access Technology ApS during their participation in the Patient@home project "Hospital at home".

Discreet tracking of own-home activities such as doors opening and closing, of motion sensors, and sensors that register the use of household appliances gives an insight into the everyday life of citizens. Exercising discretion was relevant in the project "Hospital at home" in order to provide sufficient security towards citizens that were attended to and treated in their own homes.

Lessons learned from this project show that discretion is also highly relevant to other patient groups - particularly demented people and citizens who are part of social psychiatry. However, further technological support beyond discreet surveillance is needed to create a technology solution that can render citizens in social psychiatry an assistive healthcare aid to support their everyday lives - i.e. a technology that provides a daily structure to the citizen and an opportunity to families to participate actively in the citizen's life. Such a technology has not yet been implemented, but the company Life Partners has the required mobile app building platform and tools for the job.

Vision and Purpose

This project will develop a Danish solution that helps citizens with disability and mental disorders to maintain a good life through planning and structure, improved social skills, and early detection, thus reducing the risk of severe relapse. The solution - in the form of an app - combines intelligent sensors with a planning and communication platform.

In this project the desired solution will be designed specifically for social psychiatry. The app is designed for citizens who need help to better cope with life's challenges. The solution is personalised, but it is possible to involve the citizen's relatives, and it does not matter if the citizen lives alone or with other people. The app will help citizens and their families to a better, more stable and dignified life. The project partners are hopeful that by helping citizens to feel safe in their own homes via social relationships, structure, and discreet surveillance, the proposed customised solution can reduce the number of relapse.

Activities in the Project

Different functionalities will be implemented in the app for the benefit of the citizen:

Planning and Structure

The citizent, employees and relatives can use the app to make appointments and schedule daily and weekly routines to achieve structure and overview. The system helps the citizent to keep focus on daily tasks and achieve the goals set through digital reminders and messages or virtual visits (video communication). Employees and relatives can easily keep track of the tasks achieved or, if necessary, support and/or keep the citizent on track in order to obtain a higher level of mastery and self-reliance. The app thus gives the citizent an opportunity to influence own life and manage it with reduced or no help.

Social Relations

One of the core values of quality of life is social relationships, which can be particularly challenging for citizens who are attending the social psychiatry service - this goes for patients as well as their families. Close family ties and the wish to help other people are functions integrated in the app. In an easy and simple way, the app helps the citizen to keep in contact with family, neighbours, volunteers, and friends - even over long distances. Through the app family members can support the citizen's social life by sharing pictures and using video and text messages. Such initiatives can prevent loneliness and invite relatives to be part of the citizen's everyday life.

Safety and Security

Sensor information can safeguard the citizen by alerting caregiver or municipality in case of behavioural changes so that relapse can be detected as early as possible and action be taken, if needed.

For citizens living alone the sensors can be of great help, for example by sending alerts in case of fall, unannounced walk, burner not-turned off etc. In such cases, the app alerts relatives or local authorities instantly.

Sensor information can also be used for early detection of health problems that surface through restless sleep, change in activity etc. By early detection, an alert is sent to relatives or the municipality. The alarms are configured to match individual needs - day and night. It is also possible to send alarms to several individuals.

Expected Results

It is expected that the app can help citizens in social psychiatry to remain in their own homes for a longer period of time and also to improve courses of treatment, since the social relations can be strengthened and expanded through the app. By helping citizens to feel secure in their own homes via social relationships, structure, and discreet surveillance, the number of relapse can be reduced. The solution is very innovative since there are other welfare technology solutions that combine sensors, communications, and structuring tools in a single solution. This solution both involves the citizen and the relatives as well as the carers, in order to ensure a safe and effective treatment while keeping the citizen at the centre of action.