Homecare Hub - A Pervasive Computing Approach to Integrating Data for Remote Delivery of Personal and Social Care

Care for the ageing population will increasingly be delivered within a domestic setting, so effective integration and sharing at the point of use of accurate and timely personal and social care will be essential. Reliance on the cared-for person to pass on information can be complicated by age-related memory loss and communication difficulties. The Homecare Hub (HCH) concept addresses this issue by providing an in-home care rich-data repository accessible by care providers and family members. Using a wireless handheld device, users can review text, images and audio files stored by previous carers and add their own observations for subsequent carers to access. A home based data repository overcomes many of the issues surrounding remote storage of sensitive information and removes the need to provide Internet connectivity at every point of use.