Innovative care: Using ‘A day in the life’ as a tool to explore opportunities for a tech-enabled home for older Canadians

Abstract

Caregivers play a crucial role in providing physical and emotional support to family members or clients with various health conditions. As the number of older adult population and the potential need for caregiver support increases, innovative solutions are essential in supplementing care provided by caregivers. Many studies have been conducted to date to understand the extent to which technologies can be used to address health conditions and disabilities. Assured Living is a wellness monitoring solution by Best Buy Canada designed to provide caregivers insights on family member’s daily activities and provide alerts. To bring Assured Living into the Canadian market, an A Day in the Life was created as a tool to aid in identifying the needs of the caregivers to explore opportunities in the Canadian market. The knowledge for the A Day in the Life was gathered in multiple ways: 1) meetings with health organizations, 2) meetings with organizations serving caregivers and seniors, 3) conversations with family caregivers, 4) observations during walk-throughs with internal and external stakeholders of the Assured Living lab located in Best Buy Canada headquarters. Five themes gathered from the tool include: 1) Safety 2) Activities of daily living 3) Virtual care 4) Enjoyment of life and 5) Overarching concerns about support and communication. A Day in the Life supported in determining general concerns for caregivers, identifying areas of opportunity for the business, and making collaboration with stakeholders effective.