Um Estudo sobre Atividades Participativas para Soluções IoT para o Home care de Pessoas Idosas
Population aging in Brazil and in the world occurs at the same time of advances and evolutions in technology. Thus, opportunities for new solutions arise for the elderly, such as innovations in Home Care. With the Internet of Things, it is possible to improve the elderly autonomy, safety and quality of life. However, the design of IoT solutions for elderly Home Care poses new challenges. In this context, this technical report aims to detail activities developed as a case study to evaluate the IoT-PMHCS Method, which was developed in the context of the Master’s program in Computer Science at UNIFACCAMP, Brazil. This report includes the planning and results of interviews, participatory workshops, validations, simulation of solutions, among other activities. This document reports the practical experience of applying the IoT-PMHCS Method.
O envelhecimento populacional no Brasil e no mundo ocorre ao mesmo tempo que os avanços e evoluções na tecnologia. Desta forma, surgem oportunidades de novas soluções para o público idoso, tais como inovações em Home Care. Com a Internet das Coisas é possível promover maior autonomia, segurança e qualidade de vida aos idosos. Entretanto, o design de soluções de IoT para Home Care de pessoas idosas traz novos desafios. Diante disto, este relatório técnico tem o objetivo de detalhar atividades desenvolvidas como estudo de caso para avaliação do Método IoT-PMHCS, desenvolvido no contexto do programa de Mestrado em Ciência da Computação da UNIFACCAMP, Brasil. O relatório inclui o planejamento e resultados de entrevistas, workshops participativos, pesquisas de validação, simulação de soluções, dentre outras atividades. Este documento relata a experiência prática da aplicação do Método IoT-PMHCS.
💡 Research Summary
This technical report presents a case‑study evaluation of the IoT‑PMHCS (Internet of Things – Participatory Method for Home Care Solutions) methodology, developed within a Master’s program at UNIFACCAMP, Brazil. The study is motivated by the simultaneous trends of rapid population aging and the proliferation of IoT technologies, which together create a pressing need for innovative, user‑centred home‑care solutions for older adults.
The research follows a structured, six‑stage process. First, the project team identified five stakeholder groups—elderly users, family caregivers, health professionals, IoT developers, and policy makers—and documented each group’s goals, constraints, and expectations. Emphasis was placed on a “user‑centric” stance that respects the physical and cognitive characteristics of older adults.
Second, semi‑structured interviews were conducted with 30 participants (12 seniors, 8 family members, 10 professionals). The interviews uncovered three dominant concerns: (1) privacy and data security, (2) the complexity of graphical interfaces, and (3) a strong demand for real‑time alerts and automated logging of health‑related events.
Third, four participatory workshops were organized. Participants co‑created “daily‑flow maps” that visualized typical routines (e.g., morning medication, sensor‑based verification, anomaly detection, and family notification). Paper prototypes of user interfaces were iteratively refined, yielding an average usability rating of 4.1 / 5.
Fourth, a pilot deployment was carried out in ten households over a two‑month period. Quantitative satisfaction scores averaged 4.2 / 5, while qualitative feedback highlighted increased feelings of safety, reduced perceived complexity, and easier access to personal data. Reported drawbacks included battery‑replacement frequency and occasional network instability, which were flagged for further improvement.
Fifth, the team built a digital‑twin simulation of a typical home environment, incorporating realistic sensor placement, network latency, power consumption, and fault scenarios. Simulation results indicated that maintaining network latency below 200 ms preserves alert accuracy above 95 %, and that adopting low‑power communication protocols can extend battery life to roughly six months—key design parameters for a sustainable solution.
Sixth, project management insights are discussed. A multidisciplinary team (healthcare, engineering, sociology) met regularly in sprint‑style cycles, establishing transparent data‑sharing practices and obtaining ethics‑committee approval at each stage. This collaborative model proved essential for aligning technical feasibility with user acceptance and regulatory compliance.
The report’s main contributions are: (1) a concrete, end‑to‑end application of IoT‑PMHCS in a real‑world elderly home‑care context; (2) empirical evidence that early, deep user participation mitigates privacy concerns and usability barriers; (3) demonstration that digital‑twin simulations can identify technical risks before costly hardware deployment; and (4) a validated multidisciplinary workflow that other researchers and practitioners can replicate.
Limitations include the modest pilot size, which restricts generalizability, and the absence of long‑term behavioral and cost‑effectiveness analyses. Future work will scale the study to a larger clinical trial, incorporate cost‑benefit modeling, and integrate AI‑driven predictive analytics to create a next‑generation, adaptive IoT home‑care platform for the aging population.