Home health and home monitoring in rural and frontier counties: Human factors in implementation

An aging population, increases in chronic medical conditions, and the growth in healthcare expenditures have all combined to generate substantial interest in telehome care and home monitoring devices to address the health needs of our senior populations, especially in rural and frontier communities. Telehome care and home monitoring are attractive options to allow elderly rural residents to stay in their own homes and communities and receive necessary health care. The challenge in implementation is more on the human than the technological side of the equation. Human factors involve the primary provider, the home care agency personnel, the technical support available in rural areas, and the patient. Serious effort must go into making the patient comfortable, explaining the equipment, and building trust levels so that the monitoring equipment will be used.