Technology is inevitably an integral part of our lives. New technology can greatly assist in senior home care services. While some are not thrilled with the technological gadgets that can seem to distract friends and families, many are thrilled with the ability to use the apps for practical purposes as a great help to assist aging loved ones.

Numerous apps are free while others have one-time or monthly fees, such as apps that help track a wandering dementia patient. Listed below are several apps that can help those who provide care for seniors:

Community Apps

  • Caring Bridge: “Makes it easy to stay connected to your loved ones!” With this app you are connected to your support group (friends and family). You are able to create a website, add updates and write encouraging notes. You can also use it for medical updates. This app is free.
  • Lotsa Helping Hands: A caregiving app that helps you create a community of care around your loved one. You can invite family, friends, volunteers, and care aides to join and then manage everything from sitters and errands to appointments and family gatherings using an interactive calendar. This app is free.

Medical Related Apps

  • MediSafe: Pill and medicine scheduler and medication reminder. 
  • Care Zone: With the Care Zone app you can manage medication, including dosages, create lists, record refill information and much more. You can easily record doctor’s instructions, scan medication into the app, create a calendar and share your information with whomever you would like in your network. This app is free.
  • CPR & First Aid: Sponsored by the American Heart Association, this app provides you, the caregiver, with guidelines on how to care for someone having a cardiac episode, choking or in need of basic first aid.
  • WebMD Mobile: Information on medications, symptoms and various medical conditions.
  • GrooveHealth: Answers questions about medications and provide personalized health tips.
  • Ada Health: Helps you and your loved ones check symptoms and discover what might be causing them.
  • Pain Care App: Helps track and manage pain.
  • eCare21: Provides round-the-clock patient monitoring through wireless and wearable devices such as a smartwatch or FitBit. You can track the wearer’s glucose, heart rate, activity, medication, weight, calorie intake, and sleep. You, your loved one, other family members, and doctors can access this useful information no matter where they live or work. This app is free.

Self-Help Apps

  • Elder 411 and Elder 911: This is a self-help app. Provides caregivers with over 500 pieces of advice, video lectures and a Q&A with Dr. Marion Somers, Ph.D. Elder 911 walks you through emergency procedures. This app is free.
  • Pacifica – Stress & Anxiety: Obviously, as a caregiver you may be overwhelmed and stressed; which is why it is smart to include an anxiety app. This will give you the tools to address anxiety every day. It provides you with a daily mood tracker, relaxation audio tools, gives you daily experiments to try and a daily health tracker. This app is free.

Nutrition Apps

  • Allrecipes Dinner Spinner(ipad or Android): Great for planning your own on a senior’s dinner plans. The Dinner Spinner asks you to input the meal you would like to cook, the main ingredient you intend to eat and how long you want to spend in the kitchen. It includes a place to save your meals and a link to AllRecipes.com for many more recipes. Basic app is free and the Pro version is $2.99.
  • Waterlogged: App to remind your senior to stay hydrated. Caregivers can easily view progress in meeting daily water drinking goals and customize the app based on the size and type of glass or water bottle.

Entertainment Apps

  • Lumosity: Challenging puzzles and brain teasers to keep you sharp. According to Lumosity’s Director of Communications, “Lumosity is based on the science of neuroplasticity, the idea that the brain can change and reorganize itself given the right kinds of challenges.”
  • Librivox Audio Books: Audiobooks for those who find reading traditional books has become challenging but still want to be swept away in storytelling. This app offers over 50,000 audiobooks to choose from.
  • Old Time Radio 24 (ipad): This app offers 35 stations of music and radio plays from the 1920s all the way through the 1970s. No matter what era, this app likely has the sounds of any senior’s younger years. The app can run in the background of the device so the user can still use it to send messages and surf the web while listening.

Conclusion for Apps in Senior Home Care

This list briefly encompasses the number of apps available to download. New technology is constantly evolving, enabling seniors to live more productive and fulfilling lives while being able to communicate with family members and friends wherever they live.

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Apps found using Google Play.