Three years ago, Californian Stephen Zagerman set up a webcam in his elderly father's East Coast home, hoping to routinely connect with his dad, a stroke victim who'd been left paralyzed and unable to speak. 

Celery's email system doesn't require a computer. (Celery photo)

Zagerman thought visual images of family, as well as communication through gestures by his father, would make a difference. 

But, the webcam "didn't work for us," said Zagerman. "It was still too clunky and hard to use on [my father's end]."

A lot of new technologies seek to ease the burden on adult children who've evolved into caregivers. Some, however, miss the mark in addressing needs of individuals who want to age in place, according to research commissioned by the Clarity/EAR Foundation, formed to educate the public about the needs of seniors. Clarity makes communications devices. 

The study, which examined aging attitudes of seniors and their children, found that more than half of baby boomers are open to the idea of monitors, sensors and other technology products, but only 14 percent are actively seeking these products.

"We do hear frequently that people believe older adults won't want technology, or won't be willing to adopt technology, and that can be a barrier," said Lauren Shaham, spokeswoman at Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST). "What we also know is that's not necessarily the case. If parents view technology as something that can help them stay at home and remain independent, they will be open to it, more than perhaps their children think."

About 65 percent of seniors said they are open to or would like to use technologies that enable independence. More than half would consider the use of sensors to monitor their health and safety.

Technologies include sensors and monitors that alert caregivers to variations in eating and sleeping; brain health devices that keep cognitive abilities sharp; and electronic health records that integrate a patient's records from various medical providers.

For example, Celery makes a system that allows people to exchange emails without a computer or the Internet. It can send color photos and handwritten notes through a device similar to a fax machine.

"Seniors are capable of adapting to new technologies like computers, but whether or not they want to is a bigger story," said Neil Grabowsky, vice president for sales and support at Celery. "In our experience, we have many users who are very able to use computers but choose to use Celery instead because it gets right to the quick of what they're doing. It allows them to communicate with their families - to be included in the email communication they're missing out on - without going through the process of learning to use a computer."

Another company, InforMedix, makes a smart pillbox that reminds patients when to take medicine. It also lets caregivers know of missed doses and possible health problems. Even big companies like Intel and Philips are entering the market, looking at ways to improve health through connected devices.

Comfort Levels
Still, many older adults have concerns about privacy, as well as varying attitudes toward technologies that enable an independent life. Virtually all of them are comfortable using the telephone, but almost half are comfortable using personal computers, the Internet and e-mail. Overall, the comfort level with computer technology decreased in older age groups, particularly those over 75 years of age.

Tech support issues aside, boomers still have to wrestle with emotions associated with caregiving. As the sandwich generation, many boomers already are raising families of their own, and as such, dealing with an increasing amount of stress.

In many cases, some are concerned that a retirement home would do more harm than good for their parent. About 82 percent fear their parents will be mistreated in a retirement home, and 89 percent fear their parents would be sad in that environment.

The vast majority of boomers feel it is important their elderly parents age in place. However, more than three-fourths are concerned about their parents' ability to do so.

For his part, Zegerman ultimately called off  his search for the right tech device when his family made the decision to move his father to a managed-care facility in Petaluma.

"When people are aging in place there's a real need for these types of things," he said. "But when you have 24-hour care there's plenty of monitoring."

While new technology for aging in place keeps coming, resources for caregivers grow apace. Zagerman, motivated by the experience he had with his father, is launching Our Big Circle, a web-based caregiving community that helps families find care and communicate.