Using AI, Data Analytics to Enhance Person-Centered Care for Seniors

Organizations are starting to use artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to surmount the obstacles associated with an aging population, to better understand individual needs, reports Health IT Analytics . Their effectiveness relies on their usability, which is particularly challenging for seniors. "We have to focus on that end-user being at the center of how these tools work in order to get them to adopt them," said Cathy Bodine at the University of Colorado's Center for Inclusive Design and Engineering. Researchers and developers must have older adults participate in the design process, using a person-centered approach for more intuitive models, improved patient engagement, and better results. University of California, San Diego Professor Ellen Lee and colleagues sought to build tools that can communicate with patients and understand clinician-patient rapport, by using AI to analyze language patterns and ascertain levels of loneliness in older adults. Meanwhile, the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging and LifeBio are applying a grant from the U.S. National Institute on Aging to develop a reminiscence therapy platform for people with dementia, by harnessing a machine learning application that transfers speech to text and generates life stories. The Benjamin Rose Institute's Silvia Orsulic-Jeras said ensuring people can understand and use innovative tools is a challenge that is elevated among seniors. "With the pandemic still going on, we'll have to ensure that we can provide adequate enough tech support without physically being in the room," he noted. "Our hope is that within a year's time, we'll be able to enter into residential care communities and show this new platform to our participants in person."