tailieunhanh - An e-Health System for the Elderly (Butler Project): A Pilot Study on Acceptance and Satisfaction

According to the focus group study in South Africa mentioned earlier, much of the abuse – and particularly domestic violence – occurred as a result of social disorder, exacerbated by crime, alcohol and drugs. Similar conclusions came from an exercise conducted by seven male community leaders of the Tamaho squatter camp in Katlehong, South Africa (15). Drawing a link between poverty and violence, they described how dysfunctional family life, a lack of money for essentials, and a lack of education and job opportunities have all contributed to a life of crime, drug peddling and prostitution by young people. In this society, older people are viewed as targets for abuse and exploitation, their vulnerability being. | CyberPsychology Behavior Volume 12 Number 3 2009 Mary Ann Liebert Inc. DOI An e-Health System for the Elderly Butler Project A Pilot Study on Acceptance and Satisfaction Cristina Botella . 1 2 Ernestina Etchemendy . 2 Diana Castilla . 1-4 Rosa Maria Banos . 2-4 Azucena Garcia-Palacios . 1-4 Soledad Quero . 1-4 Mariano Alcaniz . 2 4 and Jose Antonio Lozano 4 Abstract The Butler Project is a technological e-health platform that uses the Internet to connect various users it was designed to deliver health care to the elderly. The Butler platform has three levels of implementation diagnosis mood monitoring alert system management reports therapy training in inducing positive moods memory work and entertainment e-mail chat video photo albums music friend forums accessibility to the Internet . The objective of this work is to describe the psychological aspects of the platform and to present data obtained from four users. Results show that after using the system the participants increased their positive emotions and decreased their negative ones in addition they obtained high levels of satisfaction and experienced little difficulty in using the system. Introduction An increase in life EXPECTANcy and a decrease in birth rates are resulting in an increasingly aging population especially in those countries that are part of the so-called first world. In 2000 of the world s population 421 million were 65 years old or more and estimates indicate that by 2050 this percentage will be 1465 million 1 This demographic transition is changing the concept of old age no longer is it characterized by retirement illness inactivity or isolation rather it is increasingly considered merely a further step in the life cycle with its own characteristics and variations. Researchers are paying increasing attention to how manipulation of environments and lifestyles can influence how we age. Another consequence of the new demographic .