PERSONAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEMS - FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH USE AMONG OLDER PERSONS

A descriptive survey was conducted to determine factors associated wit h the use of personal emergency response systems among older community -residing subscribers in the New York City metropolitan area. Subscrib ers who wore the portable help button when alone in the home were defi ned as being ''compliant.'' The average length of time the 106 respond ents (average age 83 +/- 9) had the system in their possession was 26 +/- 18 months. Less than 50% of the subscribers were found to be fully compliant. Compliance was more common in system users who had obtaine d the system themselves, had a history of falls, got positive response s to activations, used an assistive mobility device, and received inst ruction on the system. Compliance was less common in users who had obt ained the system at the request of a family member. The data suggest t hat disuse is a common problem that clinicians should assess regularly to assure the benefit of this intervention.