10 Resourceful Apps for Seniors

According to a fairly recent research performed by the Institute of Aging, the number of seniors living alone at home has been rapidly increasing each decade.  This upward trend is primarily due to medical innovations and more accessible health care solutions; therefore, resulting in an increase of the average lifespan.  And while these accomplishments are to be revered, it also raises concern for the ever growing elder community.

Many seniors are living alone at home with chronic conditions that may require consistent medicinal regiments, while others are restricted to staying within their home due to a disability or lack of transportation.  This can not only be an ongoing hardship for seniors, but for their loved ones, too.  In our continuous dedication to creating a comfortable home life for aging adults, we here at Home Vitality Care have compiled a list of 10 resourceful apps to help ease seniors and their loved ones:

1. Skype

Excellent for the entire family, Skype allows any family member with an Android, Iphone, Mac, or Windows device to make free video calls to each other.  In addition to that, Skype allows for international calls and up to 50 participants in a single Skype session. This makes it a perfect solution for getting the whole family together and catching up with seniors who live alone.

2. The Weather Channel

In a city like Houston where the weather rapidly changes within a single day, watching the weather report the previous night could be irrelevant for the next day.  The Weather Channel app is a great solution for this as it helps seniors figure out the day of what they may need to prepare for the day. The app breaks down temperature changes throughout the day, chances of rain per hour, pollen count, and how the humidity may affect the overall temperature.  

3. Find My Phone

Android & Iphone

Both Iphone and Android provide services that assist seniors find their phone.  The only thing required is to have a second device, typically a computer, to send the find my phone notification.  This is great for seniors who may regularly mispace their phone or have a hard time with memory.

4. AARP

Along with providing access to your digital membership, the AARP provides news content and stories based upon your lifestyle and interests.  Additionally, seniors can explore hundreds of local events in their area, from career workshops and movie showings to kid-friendly events, all from within the app.

5. Epicurious

Great for seniors living on their own or for caretakers preparing meals, the Epicurious app brings 35,000 tested recipes and over a thousand food videos directly to your device.  The app also has other resourceful features integrated into it such as a seasonal ingredients finder, a smart kitchen timer for how long it takes to cook different meats and veggies, and an ingredient toggle for each recipe.   

6. Red Panic Button

Hinging on the aspect of current technology trends, Red Panic Button believes that a senior will always be closer to their smartphone than a rescue device.  Based on this belief, Red Panic Button allows seniors to simultaneously send out an emergency call, sms, email, and even their location. Furthermore, the app allows seniors to create a custom emergency contact list to who all will receive the emergency notifications.  The biggest benefit of Red Panic Button over traditional rescue or emergency devices is that the app isn’t restricted to the home, and can be accessed from any location.

7. WebMD

A handy guide for potential medical emergencies, WebMD is great for identifying potential medical emergencies.  The WebMD app also includes a doctor directory for doctors and specialists based on your current location. This app can be particularly helpful when paired with the Red Panic Button app.

8. Be My Eyes

Working in real time, Be My Eyes connects low vision or blind seniors with sighted volunteers and company representatives for virtual assistance via a live video call.  Virtual assistants help seniors with requests ranging from reading instructions to navigating their surroundings. To top it all off, Be My Eyes is completely free! 

9. Pillboxie

An Iphone specific app, Pillboxie is a medication assistant application created to ensure medication is taken on time.  Pillboxie allows you to schedule your medicine reminders by medicine, receive reminders at medication time, and see a checkbox list of medicines that are due that day.  Now you and your loved ones can have a little more peace of mind knowing you won’t accidentally miss medication anymore.

10. Evernote

Evernote offers the ability to keep notes where you need it and when you need it.  That means even without internet or data access, seniors can retrieve their notes while on the go.  Evernote also provides options for task reminder notifications that can be scheduled out into the future.  This could be a great companion application to the Pillboxie app.

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