INTRODUCTION:
The aging population increases the demand for health care and progress in this area has been driven by new care-related technologies. The Brazilian population has incorporated the use of health-monitoring equipment in the domestic environment and these can assist subjects if they receive adequate training.
OBJECTIVE:
Identify health-monitoring devices that are often used by the elderly in the home environment and describe the difficulties encountered in the use of these devices.
METHOD:
This is an exploratory, analytical and cross-sectional study. Data collection included a socioeconomic questionnaire, a Lawton and Brody Scale to assess functional capacity, and a questionnaire to classify the use of electronic devices by elderly. Data analysis employed the method of descriptive statistics.
RESULTS:
The study included 185 active seniors, of which 78.4% were women. Of the total participants, 53% were married and 31.9% have completed higher education. As for health problems and use of devices, 48.5% reported having hypertension and 25.3% diabetes; 38.4% reported owning a digital blood pressure meter; 14%, a glucose meter and 15.7%, pillboxes. Among the difficulties listed were handling the digital blood pressure meter and blood glucose meter and lack of knowledge in the interpretation and recording of results. The subjects also reported not trusting the results of the devices and preferring to seek help from a qualified professional.
CONCLUSION:
The difficulties of use may be associated with the fact that today's seniors belong to a generation that had no contact with these devices when younger, lack of training to use the equipment and lack of knowledge of how to manage results.
Chronic Disease; Health of the Elderly; Technological Development; Self Care