Smart technologies (e.g., smartphones, smart security technologies, digital home assistants) have advanced over the years and will continue to do so. There are various benefits to using these technologies in one's life, such as an increase in productivity through automation and self-monitoring one's health. Older adults particularly may benefit from smart technologies to support their everyday activities and compensate for age related changes. In this study, we explored the experiences and attitudes of eighty older adults including those who had prior experience and those who had never used (or perhaps never heard of) smart technologies through an online survey. We assessed their general opinions toward using smart technology and explored what facilitated or hindered their use. Older adults rated the facilitators to use for each smart technology differently, with few commonalities between the order of the most agreed upon facilitators. However, older adults' opinions were consistent across each technology about their ignorance of technological features and cost of the smart technology, which could be potential barriers to use. Among those who had never used one of the smart technologies, privacy was the most commonly endorsed concern. The results from this study support the understanding of key considerations when developing and deploying smart technologies for older adults.

Objective: We reviewed human–robot interaction (HRI) participatory design (PD) research with older adults. The goal was to identify methods used, determine their value for design of robots with older adults, and provide guidance for best practices. Background: Assistive robots may promote aging-in-place and quality of life for older adults. However, the robots must be designed to meet older adults’ specific needs and preferences. PD and other user-centered methods may be used to engage older adults in the robot development process to accommodate their needs and preferences and to assure usability of emergent assistive robots. Method: This targeted review of HRI PD studies with older adults draws on a detailed review of 26 articles. Our assessment focused on the HRI methods and their utility for use with older adults who have a range of needs and capabilities. Results: Our review highlighted the importance of using mixed methods and including multiple stakeholders throughout the design process. These approaches can encourage mutual learning (to improve design by developers and to increase acceptance by users). We identified key phases used in HRI PD workshops (e.g., initial interview phase, series of focus groups phase, and presentation phase). These approaches can provide inspiration for future efforts. Conclusion: HRI PD strategies can support designers in developing assistive robots that meet older adults’ needs, capabilities, and preferences to promote acceptance. More HRI research is needed to understand potential implications for aging-in-place. PD methods provide a promising approach.

Aging in place (AIP) is a term that is commonly used and defined in a plethora of ways. Multiple disciplines take a different stance on the definition of AIP, and its definition has evolved over time. Such diverse ways to define AIP could be a barrier to reach a shared expectation among multiple stakeholders when formulating research studies, making policy decisions, developing care plans, or designing technology tools to support older adults. We conducted a scoping review for the term AIP to understand specifically how it has been defined across time and disciplines. We collected exemplary definitions of AIP from 7 databases that represent different fields of study; namely, AgeLine, Anthropology Plus, Art and Architecture Source, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed, and SocINDEX. We conducted a thematic analysis to identify the common concepts that emerged across the definitions identified in the scoping review. We developed 3 main categories from the themes: space, person, and time to illustrate the root of meaning across the definitions. Intersectionality across the categories yielded a comprehensive understanding of AIP, which does not constrain its definition to a place-related phenomenon. We propose that AIP be defined as “One’s journey to maintain independence in one’s place of residence as well as to participate in one’s community.” With this shared understanding of the term AIP, policymakers, researchers, technology designers, and caregivers can better support those who aim to age in the place of their choice.

Older adults with a chronic health condition (e.g. hypertension) use various self-management methods. Healthcare technologies have the potential to support health self-management. However, it is necessary to understand the acceptance of these technologies as a precursor to older adults’ adoption and integration into their health plan. Our focus was on the factors older adults with hypertension initially consider when introduced to three new healthcare technologies that might support their health self-management. We compared their considerations for a blood pressure monitor, an electronic pillbox and a multifunction robot to simulate incrementally more complex technologies. Twenty-three participants (aged 65–84) completed four questionnaires and a semi-structured interview. The interview transcripts were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. We identified the factors that were frequently mentioned among the participants for each of the three healthcare technologies. The factors that older adults initially considered were familiarity, perceived benefits, perceived ease of use, perceived need for oneself, relative advantage, complexity and perceived need for others. Upon further reflection, participants considered advice acceptance, compatibility, convenience, facilitating conditions, perceived usefulness, privacy, subjective norm, and trust. We integrated the factors that older adults considered into the Healthcare Technology Acceptance Model (H-TAM), which elucidates the complexity of healthcare technology acceptance and provides guidance for future explorations.

Background: Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death in older adults. Due to various constraints, objective fall risk screening is seldom performed in clinical settings. Smartphones offer a high potential to provide fall risk screening for older adults in home settings. However, there is limited understanding of whether smartphone technology for falls screening is usable by older adults who present age-related changes in perceptual, cognitive, and motor capabilities. Methods: A fall risk app was developed that consists of a health history questionnaire and 5 progressively challenging mobility tasks to measure individual fall risk. An iterative design-evaluation process of semistructured interviews was performed to determine the usability of the app on a smartphone and tablet. Participants also completed a Systematic Usability Scale (SUS). In the first round of interviews, 6 older adults participated, and in the second round, 5 older adults participated. Interviews were videotaped and transcribed, and the data were coded to create themes. Average SUS scores were calculated for the smartphone and tablet. Results: There were 2 themes identified from the first round of interviews, related to perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. While instructions for the balance tasks were difficult to understand, participants found it beneficial to learn about their risk for falls, found the app easy to follow, and reported confidence in using the app on their own. Modifications were made to the app, and following the second round of interviews, participants reported high ease of use and usefulness in learning about their risk of falling. Few differences were reported between using a smartphone or tablet. Average SUS scores ranged from 79 to 84. Conclusions: Our fall risk app was found to be highly usable by older adults as reported from interviews and high scores on the SUS. When designing a mHealth app for older adults, developers should include clear and simple instructions and preventative strategies to improve health. Furthermore, if the design accommodates for age-related sensory changes, smartphones can be as effective as tablets. A mobile app to assess fall risk has the potential to be used in home settings by older adults.