# Exploring Digital Technologies for Addressing Risk Factors of Solitary Death in South Korea
## 2 Theoretical Background  
### Digital Technologies for Solitary Death Prevention  
Central and local governments and private companies have distributed small devices with various features under pilot projects to monitor the health status of the elderly living alone, support residential safety and convenience, and provide emotional support and information. Local governments have been actively distributing devices with comprehensive smart home service functions to the elderly living alone. Digital technologies for solitary death prevention include wearable devices, smart homes, mobile applications, AI, big data, virtual reality, and augmented reality. Previous studies have applied them for prevention.  
Among the studies on the application of wearable devices, the function of real-time monitoring of data on lifestyle patterns and health status of the elderly living alone through smart wearable bands has been emphasized [5]. Previous studies have analyzed the recent trends in the development of wearable healthcare devices for the elderly and explored the balance between technological advancements and user convenience [3], and studied the implementation of wearable devices that can immediately detect health risks in the elderly in real time and respond to emergencies [6].  
Other smart home-related studies have not focused on solitary deaths but have suggested various means to support living safety and emotional health by applying relevant technologies to the daily lives of vulnerable groups such as the elderly and the disabled. [PERSON] et al. [7] proposed the prevention of depression in the elderly through a mobile platform using a smart home garden, and [PERSON] [8] analyzed the case of a smart home-based living lab in South Korea to facilitate domiciliary care and welfare technology in the new normal era for the disabled and elderly. [PERSON] et al. [9] developed a smart home CCTV system that enhanced user safety via object recognition.  
Studies have applied mobile technologies to strengthen the safety and emotional support of the elderly living alone. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [10] developed an emergency safety and security service using mobile technologies to enable the elderly living alone to quickly ask for help in emergency situations, thus strengthening the safety of the elderly living alone and reducing the risks of solitary deaths. [PERSON] et al. [11] analyzed the effects of mobile media technologies on alleviating suicidal thoughts in the elderly and examined the potential for technologies to strengthen social connectedness and support mental health. [PERSON] et al. [12] developed a system to monitor the water consumption of the elderly living alone via a smartphone application and take appropriate measures when an abnormality is detected, suggesting a way to manage the daily life patterns of the elderly living alone and improve their safety.  
Additionally, there are other studies that have explored innovative technological approaches to lower the risk of solitary deaths by applying digital technologies such as IoT and big data. [PERSON] [13] explained how to construct a system to collect the health data of the elderly living alone in real time through diverse IoT devices and send immediate notifications when abnormal activities are detected. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [14] collected and analyzed daily data of the elderly living alone using smart home technologies, wearable devices, and mobile apps. They also studied measures to detect health abnormalities or risk conditions early and provide necessary medical intervention or social support. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [15] proposed a system that utilizes IoT sensors to monitor heart rates, activity levels, and sleep patterns, continuously tracking the health status of the elderly and swiftly responding to emergency situations.