Humans are social by nature, and being part of a community is important for a sense of belonging, purpose, physical health, and mental well-being. While some may think of this as developmentally crucial for younger people, the truth is that it's equally, if not more, important for seniors. Social isolation overwhelmingly leads to worse outcomes for seniors, including more physical and psychological illnesses, increased cognitive impairment, and increased risk of injuries.
Recent studies show that senior living communities positively impact their residents' overall health and longevity. Residents living in thriving communities are more likely to receive ongoing and preventative healthcare, have better medication management, and are less likely to experience social isolation and related health impacts. Communities with high ratings and levels of engagement were found to help residents live longer than other communities.
With this in mind, now is the time to start attracting new residents, connecting existing ones, and helping everyone live longer with a state-of-the-art community engagement app. How do you evaluate a community engagement app, and what features do your residents need?
When looking for a community engagement app, there are a few essential factors to consider such as:
- The Importance of Customizability: Give your residents only the features they need to make their daily lives easier without bloatware or spam.
- Critical Impact of Ongoing Maintenance and Feature Updates: Ensure your residents stay engaged by partnering with an app provider that includes ongoing maintenance and content updates.
- Best Features for Your Residents: From Wellness content to educational videos about scams targeting seniors, help your residents safely experience modern technology.
In addition to these broad strokes, here are 5 of the most important features you should look for when evaluating an engagement app for your community:
- Senior-friendly Interface: While most seniors have embraced smartphone technology as a necessary part of their daily lives, they may be slower and more inexperienced than their younger counterparts. The resident interface of your community app must be tailored to meet their needs with simple menus, large fonts, and built-in help modules. Your community app developer should know how seniors use their phones to best meet their needs.
- Streamlined Staff Communication: One of the easiest ways to engage residents while improving staff efficiency is with a community app that allows residents to chat with onsite staff. This will enable residents to reach staff without walking to the office and give staff the ability to respond to multiple resident inquiries simultaneously.
- Ongoing Resident and Staff Support: Partnering with an app development company that provides ongoing support for residents and onsite staff is crucial to keeping your app updated and maintaining engagement. Having someone they can reach out to for help quickly and easily makes your residents far more likely to adopt your app and remain in your community for the long haul.
- Survey Tools and Resident Feedback Collection: With ample data on your residents' preferences, interests, and feelings about your community, it is possible to cater engagement apps, activities, and content to their needs. A critical feature of your community engagement app should be the ability to ask for and capture feedback responses from your residents that can be used for data-driven initiatives.
- Senior Specific Educational Content and Resources: Not only should your app's interface be tailored to your residents, but so should the help documentation and educational content it provides. From interactive classes to video presentations and information for avoiding common scams that target seniors, your app can and should be a source of safe and easily digestible information that your residents can rely on.
A flourishing senior living community requires more than a great pool and gorgeous landscaping; your residents are an essential piece of the puzzle for attracting and retaining new residents. By deploying a community engagement app, you help your residents connect with your staff and give them the tools they need to stave off social isolation and age in their homes with dignity.
Get started today with the fully customizable MyCommunities platform and give your residents the tools they need to thrive in your community right in the palm of their hands. Contact hello@dualpath.net to see a demo and learn how MyCommunities can be customized to meet needs of both your communities and residents.
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