Personal Emergency Response Systems Perceptions and Experiences

Personal Emergency Response systems, or PERS, connect end users with a monitoring center during an emergency. They usually feature large buttons that can be easily pushed during an emergency.

Studies show that having a PERS changes the home as a private sphere and transforms it into a medical one. Some studies highlight positive experiences but others report challenges that come along with the device.

Sense of Security

Many older people and those living alone feel safe in their own homes with a PERS device. They can have peace of mind knowing they have a device to call for help and the ability to stay in their own home longer while keeping connected to family, caretakers and support networks.

The PERS system is also an important tool for preventing hospital admissions and decreasing inpatient days. It can significantly decrease the number of home visits by care workers and can lead to fewer false alarms and less demand on municipal resources. A study of the PERS service in an urban area found a direct relation between access to the system and a lower number of calls to the emergency department.

However, despite the positive effect of a PERS, some users do not use it or activate their alarm pendant. Reasons for nonuse described in studies are related to the way in which the telecare solution changes caring practices and how the end user experiences their home, for instance, the perception that they are being monitored by health care centers through their own home. Moreover, end users often have fears that activating their alarm by mistake will lead to the arrival of care personnel in their own home. personal medical alarms This fear can be even greater if the alarm is recommended by health care workers rather than family members.

Reduced Anxiety

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and experiences of subscribers with personal emergency response systems (PERS). Participants were interviewed by telephone or in person. Interviews were analysed thematically. Results showed that the majority of respondents were satisfied with their PERS and felt safer in their homes. However, some of them had concerns about the reliability of their device, especially the alarm response times. Some participants also reported that they felt that the device increased their anxiety. Some of them even feared that they would trigger the alarm by accident, which resulted in strangers entering their homes.

Despite the positive opinions about their safety devices, some older people do not use PERS at all [11,16]. Reasons for nonuse include a belief that the alarm will not work properly, the fear of being harmed by false alarms, and an impression that telecare can be perceived as invasive. Other reasons for nonuse may include a lack of technical problems, a desire to avoid social interaction, and a fear of becoming a burden on others.

The results indicate that the implementation of telecare in the home creates new and unexpected ways to use technology and redefines the way actors live and even define their lives. The unforeseen consequences of having a PERS suggest that we need to approach telecare from a different angle, taking into account the complexities of care with technology and its influence on the everyday lives of actors.

Reduced Hospital Stays

Studies have shown that personal alarms reduce hospital stays, ED visits and overall healthcare costs. The system allows subscribers to get help faster, and it also helps them avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and long-term care admissions. This is because the technology has been shown to provide early detection of deterioration and enables timely interventions. Moreover, the service can reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation that may impact health and wellbeing.

In addition, research on the PERS demonstrates that end users find the device to be useful and practical for their everyday lives. Many have found new and other functions for the device beyond its intended purpose (eg, older women planning to use their alarms to scare away intruders), and they express a desire for future functionalities that can further enhance their quality of life.

The PERS is a well-established and durable telecare solution. Unlike many other telecare technologies that tend to fail, the PERS is sustainable and has a long track record of use. However, the majority of the existing studies have analyzed PERS in qualitative terms only without performing longitudinal quantitative evaluations on healthcare utilization and cost implications for patients using a personal alarm. This article aims to close this gap by studying the experience of older adults using a PERS in a home care management service, examining healthcare utilization trends and costs from the perspective of these end users.





Improved Quality of Life

Besides providing peace of mind, medical alert systems can also help you live independently longer. They help you avoid the difficult decision to hire in-home services or move a family member out of your home. This can also alleviate the stress of the family members who worry about their loved ones’ safety at home.

In the included studies, many end users described that they were satisfied with their PERS and found it easy to use. However, some of them did not actually wear or activate their alarm pendant, and the reasons for nonuse varied. Some of the reasons were related to a lack of skills, such as fear of the alarm not working. Other reasons were that the alarm seemed unnecessary to them, that they preferred other ways of feeling safe at home, or that they did not like wearing a pendant.

In addition to being able to connect with an operator in the event of an emergency, most systems also provide other benefits such as medication reminders and fitness tracking. Some even offer a fall detection feature which can send an alert to the monitoring center in the event of a suspected fall. Depending on your needs, you can choose from a wide range of mobile and traditional systems. There are also several Medicaid programs that can help pay for your device and service.