Assessing the Potential of Technology to Describe Resident and Staff Interactions in Assisted Living Facilities

PURPOSE: Falls are a significant financial burden and health hazard for residents in assisted living facilities (ALFs). However, limited capacity to observe residents has hindered understanding of resident–staff interactions within rooms. The current study aimed to describe nurse–resident interactions using data from a remote technology combining computer vision and staff location tracking.
METHOD: Eighty-three staff working at an urban ALF with 215 residents were trained at the initiation of the study. Remote surveillance devices were installed in 32 residences and staff and resident interactions were tracked over 170 days.
RESULTS: Staff visited residents an average of 20.7 times per day for short durations (mean = 1.08 minutes). Urgent alert response times averaged 3.0 minutes, with faster response times through the mobile application (mean = 2.7 minutes) compared to in-person (mean = 3.3 minutes) response.
CONCLUSION: By better understanding staff activity patterns in ALFs, this study has the potential to improve fall prevention and care for residents in ALFs. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 50(7), 7-11.]