Nursing home residents use tablets to improve memory, mobility

Residents at Health Central Park nursing home in Orange County, Florida, are using a new tool to help them offset some of the challenges that impact the elderly, the McClatchy Tribune Service reports.

According to the news provider, tablet computers are proving to be useful tools for residents with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. The mobile devices, McClatchy reports, are being used to "jump-start" residents' memory, social and mobility skills.

"These devices have an increased potential to aid people [to] preserve their memory," says Tony Marsh, a health and exercise science expert who helped develop a mobility app for tablets. "They can monitor progress and, in a way, back you up."

The tablet's design is one of its main draws, according to McClatchy. Weighing just over a pound, the tablet is convenient to carry, and the touchscreen makes it easier to browse for Health Central Park residents with atrophied hands or arthritis.

A study from market research firm Nielsen finds tablets are most popular with users between the ages of 25 and 34. However, the market share of tablet users 55 years old and up grew from 10 percent in the third quarter of 2010 to 19 percent in the second quarter of 2011.