Smart Homes: Community Model Phase

Virtual event showcasing the findings and implications of Smart Homes: Community Model Phase, a first-of-its-kind research study.

In 2019, the Mental Health Nursing Research Alliance (MHNRA) team launched a unique research study that moved into the community to evaluate the use of smart technologies in the home for people with severe mental illness.

After prototyping this approach within a hospital setting through St. Joseph’s Health Care London, affordable housing units at Canadian Mental Health Association Elgin-Middlesex (CMHA) and London & Middlesex Community Housing (LMCH) were outfitted with smart home technology. This included a smartphone, an activity tracker, a weigh scale, an automated medication dispenser and a wall mountable touch-screen monitor. These devices were connected to a centralised database for care providers to monitor health data and send prompts/reminders to their clients.

“This solution is for people who are having difficulty managing their everyday life and need a high level of care to maintain community living,” says Dr. Cheryl Forchuk, project lead for the Smart Homes Community Model. “Technology and applications were embedded in the lived environment and tested to ensure they are safe, secure and appropriate for use in health care.”

Having completed the study at the end of 2020, the research team will share the results of the study and explore the implications of this new innovative approach to mental health care.

Speakers:

• Dr. Cheryl Forchuk, Lawson Health Research Institute / MHNRA
• Nedrita Shemshedini, CMHA Elgin-Middlesex
• Barb Frampton​, Lived experience perspective
• Laura Pearson, Ontario Peer Development Initiative (OPDI)
• Question & answer session with MHNRA research team

Event poster