Parks Associates has found that 41% of caregivers in U.S. broadband households currently use a digital health device as part of their caregiving routine, including 8% who use online tools to coordinate their efforts.

Among those participating in the research firm’s survey, 22% have a head of household who currently provides care for a family member or anticipates doing so in the near future.

The top concern current and future caregivers have is that their family member will fall and be unable to get help, so the smart device with the highest interest (44% of current and future caregivers) is an electronic panic button that can signal an emergency. Also, 30% find an electronic tracking watch with a panic button appealing. Currently only 8% of caregivers use an electronic watch to track the family member under their care.

“The appeal of digital services to help provide care is far greater than current adoption levels of digital health solutions in general,” said Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates. “As we heard at our Connected Health Summit in September, demand for solutions that enable independent living at home is driving growth in the connected health markets.”