SeniorConnect: A low-cost, app-based real-time alert system to connect seniors with their caregivers

The world’s increasingly aging population is causing an upsurge in the demand for eldercare, with a need for constant monitoring, support, and considerable financial burden on caregivers. Over 1 billion individuals with disabilities live around the world, and roughly 46 percent are over 60. Within the U.S., elderly individuals are more prone to experiencing disabilities and have lower levels of digital adoption compared to younger generations. Recent Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-computing advances offer promising solutions that enable caregivers to monitor seniors remotely. Currently, the market lacks any configurable, reliable, easy-to-use, cost-effective mobile app-based alert system that lets seniors notify their caregivers. Our research aimed to design a low-cost, easy-to-use, wearable IoT-and-mobile-app prototype that lets seniors with disabilities notify their primary caregivers in real-time. We developed a fully functional prototype solution by integrating a wearable IoT button with cellular connectivity and building a customized iOS mobile app, SeniorConnect, to send real-time notifications to the caregivers when the user clicks the button. We hypothesized that key performance factors such as low latency, high delivery success, and minimal error rates would influence the perceived effectiveness and user satisfaction of a wearable alert prototype system. Our research presents a significant advancement in elderly care through a cost-effective, user-friendly, and reliable IoT-based alert system. It empowers seniors with disabilities to notify caregivers in real-time.