A growing number of older people and those with disabilities are living in the community and often alone. It is increasingly important, therefore, for providers of support services to include telecare as part of the "care package". Evaluations of community alarm systems have been undertaken as recently as 2003. As technological changes have been rapid during the intervening period and many product ranges have increased in number or complexity, research data quickly become less relevant (Ricability, 2003). Confidence in the use of community alarms is dependent on many interrelated factors, such as ease and success of use. This evaluation will adopt an ergonomic approach to identify the features and functions of community alarm equipment. It will also assess the degree to which the devices meet the needs and abilities of different clinical populations.
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