Our planet is rapidly aging: every second in the world, two people celebrate their sixtieth anniversary. Over the past three decades, the population aged 60 years and older has doubled, while by 2050. Its share will double again.
According to UN forecasts, by the middle of the century, about 3.2 million people over 100 years old will live on Earth, while today there are a little more than 300 thousand of them.
The share of elderly people in the general population structure is growing faster than any other age group. More and more “old” countries are appearing on the world map – states with more than 7% of the population over 65 years old.
The life expectancy of citizens of both developed and developing territories continues to increase rapidly. If in the 1950s a person lived on average for 47 years, by 2010 this indicator had grown to 69 years. It is expected that by 2050, the average inhabitant of our planet will die at 76 years old, and by 2100 – at 85.
There are more elderly people due to the improvement of the quality of healthcare, the intensive development of medicine, the improvement of sanitary supervision, the expansion of access to education and economic well-being. Of course, the opportunity to live a long life is a triumph of human development, but the aging of the population also brings with it many new challenges.
It is believed that gadgets are youth devices that are not suitable for elderly people. However, this opinion is erroneous. The modern market offers devices for the elderly. They help to provide assistance and save lives if a person is left alone in a difficult situation.
Over the past decade, there has been a trend to provide your loved ones with gadgets for personal safety, in particular for lonely elderly people. These devices help to protect a person or attract the attention of others in a variety of and sometimes extremely dangerous situations. But mostly, they are designed to help in critical situations that arise at home, in nature or on the road. At the same time, there is a special type of wearable electronics that is designed specifically to help children and the elderly.
Personal safety devices for elderly: emergency button
For elderly people who live separately from relatives, there is a different category of devices – emergency medical call systems. An elderly person receives a small device with an alarm button that he must press if he becomes bad. The system sends a signal either to the operator, who redirects the request to the ambulance or to special services, or to relatives and neighbors, or immediately to the ambulance service (depending on the preset options). Devices with an alarm button are offered to elderly people to install in different cities of Europe. This is often done by non-profit organizations for ensuring safety for elderly.
The function of notifying several contacts when the alarm button is pressed is also built into some phones designed for the elderly.
Electronic assistants solve medical and social problems. The gadget is made in the form of a regular button that is built into a watch, phone, or bracelet. It regularly transmits signals to the emergency services, which respond promptly when an alarm signal is received. Gadgets are used for the safety of people who, due to their age, cannot engage in self-service and help themselves in case of an emergency.
Despite the fact that the devices may look different, all devices have a distinctive feature – the SOS emergency button for elderly, which allows you to instantly send a signal to the dispatcher or a loved one. Such a solution is being actively implemented in modern life, as it contributes to the provision of timely medical care.
An alarm button is a small device that will quickly and reliably give you a signal that your family or friends need help. The model is recommended to ensure the safety of the elderly and children, as well as for those who have health problems or who need an effective system for notifying family members in an emergency situation. The GSM SOS alarm button has a lightweight plastic moisture-resistant case that is convenient to carry on a strap or in a pocket.
In addition to the wearable emergency button, there is an alarm safety bracelet for elderly. The device is modified and more functional. The gadget resembles an ordinary wristwatch, which transmits a signal to the dispatcher on an electronic scoreboard in real-time. The rescue device has more functions since it transmits data with high accuracy, so it is not difficult to determine the place of calling rescuers.
Safety tips for elderly living alone
Aging is a long process that begins with a gradual decrease in the functional capabilities of the human body. There are three stages of this period: elderly age-60-74 years, senile age-75-89 years, and longevity-90 years and older.
With age, there is a loss of psychological flexibility and ability to adapt, interest in the new, unknown is replaced by a desire for stability and reliability. Awareness of the inevitability of aging, coupled with the loss of social status, physical limitations, and mental changes, leads older people to narrow the circle of communication, the emergence of a sense of inferiority and uselessness, and sometimes to severe depressive states. Therefore, it is worth taking care of your relatives and friends, paying attention, and providing maximum support that is possible.
An elderly person can become a victim of a fire, a gas leak simply because he will not be able to evacuate, find a way out. By the way, a third of all elderly people live alone, which means that relatives, volunteers, neighbors, and just caring people should take care of their safety. Therefore, in order to avoid dangerous situations, it is worth adhering to the safety rules for the elderly.
- The presence of a working fire alarm system, according to statistics, reduces the risk of death by 60%. Thanks to the alarm system, an elderly person will know about the presence of a fire in time and will be able to evacuate. Check the battery charge monthly and replace them every year. Fire safety for the elderly will be ensured if you take care that the alarm system has a loud beep.
- Let people living in the neighborhood know that an elderly person may need their help in the event of a fire or other emergency event. The safety of the elderly sometimes depends on whether the neighbors know that there is a lonely grandfather or grandmother in the room.
- Make sure that the phone is located next to the elderly person’s bed, or you have safety alarm for elderly. Sometimes an elderly person feels danger, but can not find his phone in any way to call for help.
- An elderly person should always have glasses, a hearing aid, a cane, and keys at hand. The safety of older people is often at risk because they can’t find their keys or glasses.
- Make sure that a relative can independently open the front door and window because the safety of elderly people sometimes depends on such simple things.
- Provide a lonely loved one with a special personal safety device that will help you help him in case of trouble. Remember that every second is precious and any wearable personal safety devices can become a decisive factor in saving a person.
How to create and order emergency button for elderly?
There are numerous smart gadgets on the market designed to monitor a person’s condition. However, they are specialized for a wide range of people, and mainly for young people. Special gadgets for the elderly are quite rare, and there are reasons for this. In addition to the general probable problems described above, various diseases such as dementia, Parkinson’s syndrome, etc. may develop or worsen in old age. For such people, there are no common gadgets, and they need special ones, sometimes even for a specific person.
That is why this issue should be approached very responsibly. The development emergency button means of reporting danger to an elderly person should be designed to the smallest detail. That is why we suggest that you contact qualified and experienced specialists.
If you are faced with the task of protecting your beloved one and preventing irreversible events, you could create your custom emergency call button for seniors no monthly fee. You can get a free consultation from embedded hardware design service company ADUK GmbH, which previously developed the Wearable Emergency Button “Salvatio Push” for exactly such purposes.
