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The vast development of the technology of embedded systems has had a great impact on the healthcare field. Using low-cost, robust parts, this research proposes an innovative technology and design that enables paralyzed patients or elderly individuals to have a smart room with a voice recognition control unit that works like a joystick for various purposes. The aim is to create an environment that meets their needs and increases their independence, thereby improving their quality of life. The research will show the design of the control unit and present the various applications that can be programmed using voice commands, such as a wheelchair, bed, temperature, lights, TV, and alarm. The voice recognition module will be trained using the patient's voice, for example, to change the movement direction of a wheelchair. The system is based on training the Voice Recognition Module v3 with the use of Arduino and Node MCU. The results of the commendable accuracy of the English word response in a quiet environment ranged between 90% and 100% at the 0.2-meter distance and 50% and 100% at the 0.5-meter distance. While in a noisy environment, it ranged between 40% and 100% at the 0.2-meter distance and 10%– 90% at the 0.5-meter distance. As for the Arabic-pronounced words, they ranged between 60% and 100% at the 0.2-meter distance and 30% and 100% at the 0.5- meter distance in a quiet environment. And, in a noisy environment, it ranged between 30% and 100% at the 0.2-meter distance and 10% and 100% at the 0.5- meter distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Gümüshane Üniversitesi Saglik Bilimleri Dergisi is the property of Gumushane University, Faculty of Health Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Debate Jurídico Ecuador is the property of Universidad Regional Autonoma de los Andes (UNIANDES) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this research, we examined the efforts of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) involved in the expansion of transportation services to socially disadvantaged groups in Los Angeles—the disabled, low income, new immigrants, and racially minoritized groups. To better understand their efforts and the organizational and structural factors affecting their involvement, 10 NPOs were interviewed between March and July 2020. Those interviews were transcribed and qualitatively analyzed. The qualitative data analysis revealed that partnering with disinvested communities requires a focus on language equity where information should be available in a language that members of the disadvantaged community understand. Moreover, NPOs agreed that diversity and the city size complicate transportation equity. NPOs' perception of the City of Los Angeles's role in advancing all-inclusive transportation is mixed. Even though nonprofit organizations acknowledge the City's commitment to developing robust transit systems, most are critical of the City's strategies and sense of urgency to provide a transportation system tailored to the transportation-disadvantaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bylye Gody is the property of Cherkas Global University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this research is to install a handrail on sliding doors used in hospitals and nursing facilities to support the elderly and disabled to walk by themselves. Semi-automatic lifting equipment is utilised for the retractable handrail to make sure people in bad health are able to open the door using minimal force. This paper summarises ergonomic considerations to develop the product above. For example, the maximum opening force should be a certain value or less for the elderly and disabled to open the product effortlessly. Additionally, the initial opening force is required to be a certain degree for safe use. When the product is used as a handrail, the handrail is required to be stable and unshakable in opening or closing directions. The results obtained by having the elderly and disabled use the prototype demonstrated that it improves their walking abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to WHO 75% Million people uses wheel chair but 20.3 percent population are wheelchair worthy. It is estimated that more than 70 million people need wheel chairs. But only 5 to 15 % people have access to one. The number of people aged 65 or older is estimated to grow from 534 million in 2010 to nearly 1.5 billion in 2050. This strategy represents the requirement of wheel chair is high. This project aims at modeling and analyzing manual wheel chair with commode facility, easy foldable and detach with low weight such that it can be handled easily. Modeling is done by considering standard design considerations of manual wheel chair centre folding type. Additional facilities are provided in this wheel chair with easy to detach the commode plate, easy positioning of the wheel chair on commode and also space is provided where the commode can be attached to seat base itself. The seat is modeled with a metal plate with pin joint at one end and free to open on other end which helps in folding wheel chair. On top of the seat thick PU cushioning is arranged which provide comfort for the user even during long duration seat on wheel chair. Front table board which helps to place food, books etc. it increases the user's comfort. Double rimmed wheels with more strength compared to standard wheels. Analysis is performed using T6-6061, T6-6063 material which is light in weight and also with SS material. Further analysis is done on wheel chair with different body weights using all three materials. Analysis results show the modeled wheel chair can withstand even for over obesity category person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of disabled elderly with mobility constraints particularly in developing countries including Nigeria is becoming worrisome. The study examined travel behaviour and mobility challenges of disabled elderly in four cities in Ogun State, Nigeria. Purposive and convenient sampling methods were used to administer 400 questionnaire and data elicited were analyzed descriptively and inferentially. Findings revealed that most of respondents were male (69.5%), aged between 66-70 years (43.5%), and characterized with visual impairment (62%). On travel behaviour, majority generated about 10 trips a week (68.5%), through tricycle (45.5%) and basically for medical purposes (81%). Mobility challenges faced by respondents are mostly deplorable road (92%), inaccessibility to public transport (84%), poor public vehicle condition (76%) and longer-waiting time at bus stops (70%). These challenges have been blamed on weak policy framework and systematic withdrawal of governmentin public transport investment. Furthermore, binary logistics regression result shows that respondents travel behaviour is statistically influenced by their socioeconomic status (p

Low-income older Californians with disabilities depend on a variety of public programs to remain in their own homes. This policy note provides the first findings from a project that is following a group of seniors who depend on a fragile arrangement of paid and unpaid help to maintain their independence. The analysis finds that the disability needs of these older adults are often unstable, with both their physical and mental health status sometimes changing day to day. Public services are a crucial component of these individuals’ support networks, even if they sometimes fall short of addressing all their complex needs. Many of these disabled older adults have nowhere else to turn for assistance should their public services be cut. Interviews reveal that these people are typically in poor physical and psychological condition and are just managing to live safely in their homes. At the same time, they share a common goal of staying at home and maintaining their independence.

This paper deals with the important problem that there is no help with the accessibility evaluations of Thailand’s web by developing and evaluating a new method and tool online, WebThai2Access, with experts, developers, and users with disabilities. This tool was evaluated by 30 developers, 30 hearing impaired people, 30 visually impaired people, and 30 elderly people. The developers evaluated the websites whereas experimental tasks were given to each disabled group based on the problems they had accessing web information. The developers found WebThai2Access very usable and the 15 test criteria were reliable for evaluating websites. The lower and upper 95% limits for confidence ratings of developers were minus or plus 10% for YouTube and Pantip websites and minus or plus 3% with the blind association website. The 95% lower and upper limits of confidence were minus or plus 5% for hearing impaired users, minus or plus 2% for elderly users and minus or plus 0% for visually impaired users. The results therefore showed WebThai2Access was reliable and accessible for developers whose evaluations reasonably well predicted website accessibility for users with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Taiwanese population of disabled and elderly has grown considerably in recent years. The government has accordingly actively improved public transportation services to meet the growing demands of the elderly and the disabled. However, there is very limited knowledge on the essential service attributes that the disabled/elderly expect and desire. The purposes of this study are to investigate the services desired by the disabled/elderly and to classify the service attributes of rehab buses. The investigator created the questionnaire to collect the subjective assessment from the voluntary respondents in northern Taiwan. The questionnaire has two parts, the socioeconomic information of the respondents and their assessment of service requirement. There were 149 valid samples collected. This study adopted Kano two-dimensional quality model to investigate the users' needs on twenty service attributes of rehab buses. The results indicated that 1) ease of reserving a ride, 2) compliance with safety regulation, 3) punctual pickup, 4) attentiveness and promptness of bus driverswere the most desired attributes. The least desired attribute was ridesharing arrangement, which, however, did not affect the satisfaction of the disabled/elderly respondent's with the service. It implies that the disabled/ elderly did not resist sharing a ride with others. Ridesharing appears to be an effective measure to alleviate the problem of current supply of rehab buses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Driven by the shortage in qualified nurses and the high percentage of aging populations, the past decade has witnessed a significant growth in the use of robots in nursing, especially in countries like Japan. This article is a scoping review of the different tracks in which robots are used in nursing. Whereas assistive robots are used for physical care, including service and monitoring tasks, social assistive robots focus on the cognitive and emotional well‐being of patients in need of companionship. Methods: A total of six electronic databases were used in the search for journal papers and conference proceedings. The key words used in searching the databases were nursing OR nurses, AND robots OR robotics. Topics covering surgical robotics, nursing education robotics, and clinical procedures were excluded. Findings: A total of 1,758 articles were retrieved, from which 69 articles were included in the final review. The analysis of the chosen papers led to the categorization of robots into two main categories: assistive robots and social assistive robots. Conclusions: After a detailed review of the state of the art in assistive robots and social assistive robots, an insight into the future of robotics in this field is provided. The recommendations include the need to intensify research on human robot interaction, greater focus on monitoring robots, and analysis of the psychological barriers that need to be surmounted to achieve more tolerance and higher acceptance of robots. Clinical Relevance: For researchers and developers to provide suitable technological solutions, a full understanding of robotics in nursing is needed. An overview of the most recent applications and their proper categorization is key to finding areas for contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popularity of yoga in the United States and across the globe has been steadily increasing over the past several decades. The interest in yoga as a therapeutic lifestyle tool has also grown within the medical community during this time. However, the wide range of styles available to the public can make it difficult for patients and physicians alike to choose the one that will offer the most benefit. This guide was created to assist physicians in making informed recommendations for patients practicing yoga in the community. When the most suitable style is selected, yoga can be an extremely useful lifestyle tool for patients seeking to improve fitness and develop a mindfulness-based practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequent emergency department (ED) use is a public health and policy relevant concern but has not previously been examined in the Medicare population. We conducted a retrospective, claims-based analysis of a nationally representative 20% sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries in 2010 ( n = 5,778,038) to examine frequent ED use. We used multinomial logistic regression to study the relationship between frequent ED use and sociodemographic, outpatient care, and clinical characteristics. Factors that were most strongly associated with frequent ED use included being age 18 to 34 years compared with 65 to 74 years (relative risk ratio = 20.5, confidence interval [CI; 19.7, 21.3]) and mental illness (relative risk ratio = 6.8, CI [6.7, 6.9]). Low versus high continuity of care was associated with 24% (95% CI [1.21, 1.26]) greater risk of frequent compared with non-ED use. Although clinical and demographic characteristics are most strongly associated with frequent ED use, poor continuity of care is also a contributor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, home care service is a prominent and increasingly widespread application in which, families and communities play a key role in the protection, care, support and treatment of the elderly people. This study aims to evaluate the home care services given to the elderly people who are identified as 65 years old and odd, and who are in need of home care in the light of female family members- caregiver's experince especially in Trabzon province. First, socio-demographic views of caregiver and elders have been revealed by means of using a structured form; and then the data, which has been collected through the interview done with caregivers, was demonstrated. Through the qualitative analysis of the collected data, the coverage of home care services, presentation of these services, positive and negative aspects in terms of both caregivers and elderly people, expectations/demands etc. are revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of SDU Journal of Engineering Sciences & Design / Mühendislik Bilimleri ve Tasarım Dergisi is the property of Journal of Engineering Sciences & Design and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revija Šport is the property of Sport: Revija Za Teoreticna in Praticna Vprasanja Sporta and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Itobiad: Journal of the Human & Social Science Researches / İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Itobiad: Journal of the Human & Social Science Researches and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The patients, the elderly and disabled people (with physical and/or psychological limits because of their ages or disabilities) constitute a substantial part of society. Library and library services are known to play therapeutic roles in their lives. Therefore, either as a branch of a public library or independently, the libraries should endeavour to develop services for their needs, taking into account the special conditions and circumstances of the patients, the elderly and the disabled. The latest version of these guidelines was published and compiled by a working group lead by Nancy Mary Panella in 2000 and it aimed to identify the essential features of such services and to provide suggestions tailored to local needs and circumstances. This paper is the translation of the aforementioned guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will present some salient issues affecting the human rights of most vulnerable segments of the Ghanaian population, namely, children, women, the disabled, and the elderly. On different levels the provision of welfare services for these subgroups is inadequate. This article will outline these services and the unique set of problems and issues besetting each group. Economic constraints and lack of commitment to good governance, common in developing countries, are obstacles to the advancement, human rights, and social protection of these groups. This article will examine the implications for adopting social development models and concepts for improving the social and human rights conditions of these vulnerable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Proxy responses are very common when surveys are conducted among the elderly or disabled population. Outcomes reported by proxy may be systematically different from those obtained from patients directly. The objective of the study is to examine the presence, direction, and magnitude of possible differences between proxy-reported and patient-reported outcomes in health and functional status measures among Medicare beneficiaries. Methods: This study is a pooled cross-sectional study of a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries from 2006 to 2011. Survey respondents can respond to the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey either by themselves or via proxies. Health and functional status was assessed across five domains: physical, affective, cognitive, social, and sensory status. Propensity score matching was used to get matched pairs of patient-reports and proxy-reports. Results: After applying the propensity score matching, the study identified 7,780 person-years of patient-reports paired with 7,780 person-years of proxy-reports. Except for the sensory limitation, differences between proxy-reported and patient-reported outcomes were present in physical, affective, cognitive, and social limitations. Compared to patient-reports, a question regarding survey respondents' difficulties in managing money was associated with the largest proxy response bias (relative risk, RR = 3.83). With few exceptions, the presence, direction, and magnitude of differences between proxy-reported and patient-reported outcomes did not vary much in the subgroup analysis. Conclusions: When there is a difference between proxy-reported and patient-reported outcomes, proxies tended to report more health and functional limitations among the elderly and disabled population. The extent of proxy response bias depended on the domain being tested and the nature of the question being asked. Researchers should accept proxy reports for sensory status and objective, observable, or easy questions. For physical, affective, cognitive, or social status and private, unobservable, or complex questions, proxy-reported outcomes should be used with caution when patient-reported outcomes are not available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the potential of assistive service robots to support disabled and elderly people. It shows that they have considerable untapped potential in this area, but also that inappropriate implementations could increase isolation, reduce independence and lead to users feeling as though they are under surveillance. The main body of the paper presents an overview of existing applications and discusses their benefits and potential problems. This is organized by an extension of the common classification into socially and physically assistive robots by the two categories of sensory assistive and mixed assistance robots. Another more detailed classification is also presented. This discussion is introduced by an overview of many of the technological components of smart mobile robots. It is followed by a discussion of user acceptance. The problems of existing models based on either solely positive or solely negative factors are noted and a model containing both types of factors is proposed. The need for continuing research is noted and various proposals are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a framework for automatic simulated accessibility and ergonomy testing of virtual prototypes of products using virtual user models. The proposed virtual user modeling framework describes virtual humans focusing on the elderly and people with disabilities. Geometric, kinematic, physical, behavioral and cognitive aspects of the user affected by possible disabilities are examined, in order to create virtual user models able to represent people with various functional limitations. Hierarchical task and interaction models are introduced, in order to describe the user's capabilities at multiple levels of abstraction. The use of alternative ways of a user task's execution, exploiting different modalities and assistive devices, is supported by the proposed task analysis. Experimental results on the accessibility and ergonomy evaluation of different workplace designs for the use of a telephone and a stapler show how the proposed framework can be put into practice and demonstrate its significant potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Living labs represent an important step in the development of research solutions based on the inclusive design paradigm. To ensure participants' rights and the adoption of an ethical approach to technological research, this paper presents some tools and strategies that comply with the needs and rights of those less advantaged groups to ensure that their rights and demands are taken into account. There is a gap in the construction and development of norms for a living lab. This article summarizes the efforts made to achieve the goals of ethical awareness, enumerates the issues related to the ethical problems that may arise during participatory design and living labs environments, describes working routines, and outlines recommendations for achieving this objective. This paper attempts to focus on those aspects of research development that directly or indirectly come into contact with issues of ethics, privacy, and security related to participants in the context of any research conducted using a living lab approach. It also includes thoughts about the importance of information and communication technologies on the public domain and their implications for privacy. The importance of ethical awareness is even more evident in the case of enterprises where elderly and disabled users are present. For that reason, there are several legal tools that can be applied in a living lab setting, tools that are pertinent even though they may not have been conceived specifically to regulate this environment, may be used in a precarious way and might be temporary as well, just to proceed with the setting up of the living lab. However, the specificity and idiosyncrasy of this research environment demands further efforts to establish procedures that will facilitate both the proper set-up and smooth running of the living lab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tetrazepam is a muscle relaxant belonging to the benzodiazepine group. Drug eruptions following ingestion of tetrazepam tablets are well known. Objective: To draw the attention to occupational airborne dermatitis and/or hand dermatitis in nurses resulting from crushing of tablets for elderly or disabled people. Methods: Since 2003, 16 nurses with facial (eyelid) and/or hand dermatitis, suspected to be of occupational origin, were patch tested with the medication they handled during work. Results: Ten nurses presented with a positive patch test reaction to tablets containing tetrazepam, 14 controls remaining negative. Some of them also reacted to other drugs. Conclusion: Occupational airborne and/or hand contact dermatitis from tetrazepam might be much more common than suspected by dermatologists, particularly in view of the short period in which all cases have been observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]