AirTags To Track Dementia Patients?

Knowing acquaintances, friends & family struggling with Alzheimer’s, the report hit home how “some people are turning to Apple’s AirTags to track loved ones with dementia.” Best Choice in terms of reliability? Ethical?

The extent of the problem & frantic attempts to deal with it is seen by the fact that an estimated 6.5 million Americans over 65 are now living with Alzheimer’s dementia. And, as Fox Biz notes, “a popular device used to locate lost items like keys, a wallet or a bag, is being used by some to track their loved ones …” It’s Apple’s tiny $29k tracker after “finding other methods of monitoring people with dementia aren’t a fit or are too expensive.” Apparently, many tracking apps reuire people to have their phones with them while people with dementia might forget them when they leave the house. But, they do, says the WSJ, “tend to remember keys and wallets to which the Air Tags were designed to attach.”

Problem solved, then? Maybe. Maybe not quite yet. Public health officials warn tracking people with dementia is itself ethically murky since some people don’t want to be tracked. “ Just because someone has been diagnosed with dementia doesn’t mean they can’t still make decisions for themselves,” said Joseph Gaugler, a professor of long-term care and again at the U of Minn. School of Public Health. “They … should be asked if it’s OK with them.” Meanwhile, the media outlets have been told by some people using AirTags they “lack the precision to be useful in dire situations.” They don’t have GPS so it’s hardly fail-proof. And, AirTags have been associated with criminals using them for luggage theft to murder. “AirTag is designed to discourage unwanted tracking,” the Apple website reminds.

Davd Soul