Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Methodology for Establishing a Community-Wide Life Laboratory for Capturing Unobtrusive and Continuous Remote Activity and Health Data
Published on: July 27, 2018
Physical and mental health of homebound older adults: an overlooked population
Wei Qiao Qiu1, Michael Dean, Timothy Liu
1Department of Psychiatry, Boston University Medical Campus, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA. wqiu67@bu.edu
Abstract:
There are currently more than 38.9 million people aged 65 an older in the United States. Up to 3.6 million of these people are considered housebound and in need of home-based care. Although homebound status is not defined specifically, with a broad range of disability levels, it is evident that people who are homebound suffer from a multitude of medical and psychiatric illnesses. This review examines the current literature to identify the specific physical and psychiatric factors most responsible for older adults becoming and remaining housebound. Homebound older adults suffer from metabolic, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and musculoskeletal diseases, as well as from cognitive impairment, dementia, and depression, at higher rates than the general elderly population. The information in this review will explain the specific types of care the homebound population needs and discuss the care that could help ease their suffering and delay their entry into a nursing home or hospital.
Related Concept Videos
Documentation in Long-Term and Home Healthcare Setting
Long-Term Care Facilities
Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Absorption
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Development of Human Microbiota
