Is there a way to improve communication in home care between family and patients?

There is no difference between emergencies and everyday problems in conventional systems.

To research more about my target audience, I visited an elderly care home, to interview a nurse and look at their emergency system, talked with an emergency driver and visited a group of stroke patients over several weeks. I presented concepts and early prototypes to them, to receive feedback and improvement suggestions. Inadequate communication in homecare between patients and their relatives is an immense problem. Conventional product systems are designed for emergency use only and lead to an enormous stress situation for caregivers, since no distinction is made between a serious emergency or an everyday problem.

Accessible home communication for elderly care

Lifeline is a portable communication system designed for patients receiving home care from family members. The system was developed in close collaboration with relevant stakeholders. Despite physical distance, patients can contact their relatives at any time.

There are three communication modes:

• "Please come" (ringing)
• "Talking" (telephone)
• "Emergency" (emergency ring)

The interaction surfaces were intentionally designed with different sizes, textures, and shapes to ensure recognition even for users with visual impairments. A volume control on the side allows the caller's voice to be adjusted as needed.

To prevent accidental activation, the emergency button was designed as a ring that must be gently pulled. Emergency calls are first directed to a caregiver and, if unanswered, are automatically forwarded to the emergency services center. Additionally, a built-in fall sensor enables passive emergency calls.