Abstract and Introduction
Introduction
Older adults in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are at a significantly higher risk for hospitalization and death due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).[1,2] Prolonged stays, close aggregation, and low functional status compound poor prognosis of this vulnerable population.[3] Wearable devices have increasingly emerged as novel tools to track and mitigate outbreaks given continuously collected and wirelessly transmitted physiological data.[4,5] Devices for older adults in LTCFs must consider low technical literacy, medical complexity, cognitive decline, skin fragility, overburdened caregivers, and limited technical staff expertise. Though recent studies have used wearables like AppleWatch and FitBit to identify COVID-19 infections, they systematically underrepresent older adults and fail to measure key symptoms, including cough, fever, and shortness of breath.[4,6] This study evaluated the feasibility of remotely deployed bio-integrated wireless sensors to comprehensively measure vital signs in high-risk, residential older adults.
J Am Geriatr Soc. 2022;70(4):968-971. © 2022 Blackwell Publishing
