Project Description
The world’s population is aging, causing an increase in health care needs. This includes an increase in (multi)morbidity. Wearables could be part of a solution to the problem of increasing burden on the health care system and rising healthcare costs due to an aging society.
Objective
To provide an overview of how wearables could be used in prevention, treatment and recovery by discussing four of the most common diseases in elderly people.
Methods
Editorial in which we discussed potential solutions based on recent scientific literature.
Results
A large variety of wearable tools to prevent chronic diseases and to monitor or aid patients suffering from chronic conditions exists. These tools aka ‘wearables’, can be described as clothing and accessories incorporating advanced electronic technologies, resulting in practical functions and features. We have provided possible solutions for Osteoporosis, Cardiovascular diseases, Diabetes and Dementia.
Conclusions
Although the field of wearable devices is new and several areas are yet to be explored, it is obvious they could positively affect elderly care. Since the elderly of the future will increasingly be ‘tech savvies’ that might expect the use of technology to support their lives, we advice the research community, but also healthcare providers to further explore the possibilities and get familiar with these tools. Together we should bridge the gap between what is possible with wearables and what is currently been done with wearables in practice.