elderly mental health
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Buddy: an Artificial CompanionElderly Mental Health
Corey BestAlyssa Fischer
Kaeleigh KennedyShereen Teymour
Fatima UddinAlyssa Young
A Disparity in Mental Health:
The Elderly Mental Health• 20% of individuals
over age 55 have some type of mental health concern
(CDC, 2008)
• Of any age group, men aged 85+ have the highest suicide rate
Depression• Is the most
prevalent mental health concern among elderly population
• Is NOT a normal part of getting older and is treatable in 80% of the cases
A Disparity in Mental Health:
The Elderly The Problem:• Physical and mental
side affects of loneliness in the elderly• Hardening of the
arteries• High blood
pressure• Depression• High cortisol levels• Memory problems
(Gammon, 2012)
Loneliness• 18% of seniors live
alone and 43% report feeling lonely on a regular basis
(Botek, 2012)
• Loneliness may lead to depression and adverse health consequences
Product Description Structure
• Artificial companion, “man’s best friend”
• Softer texture, but accepted as mechanical
Function• Mental stimulation:
therapeutic, conversational, & emotionally engaging
• Surveys for patient’s healthcare provider
• Filling the gap
“Buddy”
Target Populations• Elderly individuals who
live alone OR feel isolated living in a group home
• Primary Health care providers of elderly patients
Product Description
“Buddy”: an Artifical Companion
Benefits to Target Populations
Benefits to target populations• Efficient• Increased communication• Mental stimulation• Decreased loneliness• Entertainment• Overall increased mental and physical
health
Integration & Implementation
Hardware• Sensors• Audio input & output• Storage and
memory Software
• Use of applications Personnel
• Primary care providers
Training & Education• On site
Purchase of Product• Through Professionals• Private sector
Continued Maintenance
Proven Methodologies UTOPIA Project
• Facilitates health and happiness in various ways
HOMIE• Able to understand its
owner’s emotions
COMPANIONS Project• Pro-activity
Picture retrieved from: Kriglstein, S. & Wallner, 2005
Barriers to Entry Barriers of “Buddy”
• Gaining provider acceptance for installation and distribution
• Costs for creation and for purchase• Consumer acceptance • Health conditions that make it difficult for
patient use• Similarity to existing products may create
competition
Anticipated Costs Cost for making one
artificial companion• Voice detection technology:
$8,000• Training of provider: $1,000• Touch Sensation technology:
$8,000• Microphone and speakers:
$5,000• Applications for survey
conduction: $4,000• Application using natural
language user interface: $10,000
• Extra materials: $500• Total = $36,500
Total funding needed• 400 million dollars
Future of “Buddy” Goals
• Lower rates of suicide from depression
• Lower rates of depression among elderly who experience loneliness
Future additions• Connection of audiobooks
to the artificial companion to read stories
• Face recognition• Enhanced provider
integration: to allow delivery of cognitive therapy techniques
• Improved user integration: accommodations for blind or deaf patients
Evaluation Evaluation of “Buddy” to ensure goals
are met:• Stage 1 of evaluation: general evaluation of
product acceptance Pilot study of 50 users
• Stage 2 of evaluation: achievement of projected goals Optional user agreement to share data
gathered from surveys by product Improvement of health overall?
NIH Funding and Conclusions
Why “Buddy”?• Hopes of launching
our product/service• Companionship
value, but also adjunct to treatment
• Benefits to target populations, overall improvement in health
Development Plan:• Year One:
Audiobooks• Year Two: Facial
recognition• Year Three:
Enhanced provider integration
Sources Bickmore, T., Caruso, L., Clough-Gorr, K., & Heeren, T. (2005). ‘It’s just like
you talk to a friend’ relational agents for older adults. Interacting with Computers, 17(6), 711-735.
Botek, A. (2012). The elder loneliness epidemic. Retrieved January 23, 2013, from http://www.agingcare.com/Articles/loneliness-in-the-elderly-151549.htm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Association of Chronic Disease Directors. The State of Mental Health and Aging in America Issue Brief 1: What Do the Data Tell Us? Atlanta, GA: National Association of Chronic Disease Directors; 2008.
Gammon, K. (2012). Why loneliness can be deadly. Retrieved January 23, 2012, from http://www.livescience.com/18800-loneliness-health-problems.html
Kidd, C., Lee, C., Lesh, N., Rich, C., & Sidner, C. (2005). Explorations in engagement for humans and robots. Artificial Intelligence, 166(1), 140-164.
Kriglstein, S. & Wallner, Gunter. (2005). HOMIE: an artificial companion for elderly people. CHI ’05 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing, 2094-2098. doi: 10.1145/1056808.1057106
Mival, O., Cringean, S., & Benyon, D. (2004). Personification technologies: developing artificial companions for older people. 1-8 http://web.media.mit.edu/~guy/lab/chi04/mival04.pdf
Peltu, M. & Wilks, Y. (2008). Close engagements with artificial companions: key social, psychological, ethical, and design issues. Oxford Internet Institute, 14,1-33.