Citation

McKenna AC, Kloseck M, Crilly R, Polgar J. BMC Geriatr. 2015; 15: e81.

Affiliation

School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, Room 2549, Elborn College, 1201 Western Road, London, ON, N6G 1H1, Canada. jpolgar@uwo.ca.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group - BMC)

DOI

10.1186/s12877-015-0079-z

PMID

26163142

Abstract

BACKGROUND: As the demographic of older people continues to grow, health services that support independence among community-dwelling seniors have become increasingly important. Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) are medical alert systems, designed to serve as a safety net for seniors living alone. Health care professionals often recommend that seniors in danger of falls or other medical emergencies obtain a PERS. The purpose of the study was to investigate the experience of seniors living with and using a PERS in their daily lives, using a qualitative grounded theory approach.

METHODS: Five focus groups and 10 semi-structured interviews, with a total of 30 participants, were completed using a grounded theory approach. All participants were PERS subscribers over the age of 80, living alone in a naturally occurring retirement community (NORC) with high health service utilization in a major urban centre in Ontario. Constant comparative analysis was used to develop themes and ultimately a model of why and how seniors obtain and use the PERS.

RESULTS: Two core themes, unpredictability and decision-making around PERS activation, emerged as major features of the theoretical model. Being able to get help and the psychological value of PERS informed the context of living with a PERS.

CONCLUSIONS: A number of theoretical conclusions related to unpredictability and the decision-making process around activating PERS were generated.

Language: en