Evaluating a Smartwatch-based Notification System in a Simulated Nursing Home: The Method

Lack of notification and communication technologies that connect the staff and the residents was found to be one of the main challenges that face nursing homes. Call light systems provide two-way communication that notifies the staff about the residents’ needs. It was found to have a direct impact on the safety and quality of care. However, current call light systems might not be effective or have many usability issues. Thus, we developed a smartwatch-based notification system for nursing homes and evaluated the effectiveness of a high-fidelity prototype of the system in a simulated nursing home. Certified Nurse Aids (CNAs) working in local nursing homes were invited to perform routine tasks using a traditional call light system and the smartwatch system. This paper focuses on the method part of the evaluation study. In particular we provide details about the process of setting up the simulated nursing home environment and the methods for obtaining the dependent measurements.