Sensor-Based Assessment of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: A Survey
Social isolation (SI) and loneliness are ‘invisible enemies’. They affect older people’s health and quality of life and have significant impact on aged care resources. While in-person screening tools for SI and loneliness exist, staff shortages and psycho-social challenges fed by stereotypes are sig...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/24/9944 |
| _version_ | 1827636878431485952 |
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| author | Deepa Prabhu Mahnoosh Kholghi Moid Sandhu Wei Lu Katie Packer Liesel Higgins David Silvera-Tawil |
| author_facet | Deepa Prabhu Mahnoosh Kholghi Moid Sandhu Wei Lu Katie Packer Liesel Higgins David Silvera-Tawil |
| author_sort | Deepa Prabhu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Social isolation (SI) and loneliness are ‘invisible enemies’. They affect older people’s health and quality of life and have significant impact on aged care resources. While in-person screening tools for SI and loneliness exist, staff shortages and psycho-social challenges fed by stereotypes are significant barriers to their implementation in routine care. Autonomous sensor-based approaches can be used to overcome these challenges by enabling unobtrusive and privacy-preserving assessments of SI and loneliness. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of sensor-based tools to assess social isolation and loneliness through a structured critical review of the relevant literature. The aim of this survey is to identify, categorise, and synthesise studies in which sensing technologies have been used to measure activity and behavioural markers of SI and loneliness in older adults. This survey identified a number of feasibility studies using ambient sensors for measuring SI and loneliness activity markers. Time spent out of home and time spent in different parts of the home were found to show strong associations with SI and loneliness scores derived from standard instruments. This survey found a lack of long-term, in-depth studies in this area with older populations. Specifically, research gaps on the use of wearable and smart phone sensors in this population were identified, including the need for co-design that is important for effective adoption and practical implementation of sensor-based SI and loneliness assessment in older adults. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:51:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7d228c33da0e4f1b95c09700885ef17a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:51:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-7d228c33da0e4f1b95c09700885ef17a2023-11-24T17:57:55ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-12-012224994410.3390/s22249944Sensor-Based Assessment of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: A SurveyDeepa Prabhu0Mahnoosh Kholghi1Moid Sandhu2Wei Lu3Katie Packer4Liesel Higgins5David Silvera-Tawil6Australian eHealth Research Centre, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, QLD 4029, AustraliaAustralian eHealth Research Centre, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, QLD 4029, AustraliaAustralian eHealth Research Centre, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, QLD 4029, AustraliaAustralian eHealth Research Centre, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, QLD 4029, AustraliaAustralian eHealth Research Centre, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, QLD 4029, AustraliaAustralian eHealth Research Centre, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, QLD 4029, AustraliaAustralian eHealth Research Centre, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, QLD 4029, AustraliaSocial isolation (SI) and loneliness are ‘invisible enemies’. They affect older people’s health and quality of life and have significant impact on aged care resources. While in-person screening tools for SI and loneliness exist, staff shortages and psycho-social challenges fed by stereotypes are significant barriers to their implementation in routine care. Autonomous sensor-based approaches can be used to overcome these challenges by enabling unobtrusive and privacy-preserving assessments of SI and loneliness. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of sensor-based tools to assess social isolation and loneliness through a structured critical review of the relevant literature. The aim of this survey is to identify, categorise, and synthesise studies in which sensing technologies have been used to measure activity and behavioural markers of SI and loneliness in older adults. This survey identified a number of feasibility studies using ambient sensors for measuring SI and loneliness activity markers. Time spent out of home and time spent in different parts of the home were found to show strong associations with SI and loneliness scores derived from standard instruments. This survey found a lack of long-term, in-depth studies in this area with older populations. Specifically, research gaps on the use of wearable and smart phone sensors in this population were identified, including the need for co-design that is important for effective adoption and practical implementation of sensor-based SI and loneliness assessment in older adults.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/24/9944social isolationlonelinesssensorsassessmentpassive monitoringactivity markers |
| spellingShingle | Deepa Prabhu Mahnoosh Kholghi Moid Sandhu Wei Lu Katie Packer Liesel Higgins David Silvera-Tawil Sensor-Based Assessment of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: A Survey Sensors social isolation loneliness sensors assessment passive monitoring activity markers |
| title | Sensor-Based Assessment of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: A Survey |
| title_full | Sensor-Based Assessment of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: A Survey |
| title_fullStr | Sensor-Based Assessment of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: A Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sensor-Based Assessment of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: A Survey |
| title_short | Sensor-Based Assessment of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: A Survey |
| title_sort | sensor based assessment of social isolation and loneliness in older adults a survey |
| topic | social isolation loneliness sensors assessment passive monitoring activity markers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/24/9944 |
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