Hidden work and the challenges of scalability and sustainability in ambulatory assisted living

Assisted living technologies may help people live independently while also—potentially—reducing health and care costs. But they are notoriously difficult to implement at scale and many devices are abandoned following initial adoption.We report findings from a study of global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices intended to support the independent living of people with cognitive impairment. Our aims were threefold: to understand (through ethnography) such individuals’ lived experience of GPS tracking; to facilitate (through action research) the customization and adaptation of technologies and care services to provide effective, ongoing support; and to explore the possibilities for a co-production methodology that would enable people with cognitive impairment and their families to work with professionals and technical designers to shape these devices and services to meet their particular needs in a sustainable way.We found that the articulation work needed for maintaining the GPS technology in “working order” was extensive and ongoing. This articulation work does not merely supplement formal procedures, a lot of it is needed to get round them, but it is also often invisible and thus its importance goes largely unrecognized. If GPS technologies are to be implemented at scale and sustainably, methods must be found to capitalize on the skills and tacit knowledge held within the care network (professional and lay) to resolve problems, improve device design, devise new service solutions, and foster organizational learning

Playful, Curious, Creative, Equitable : Exploring Opportunities for AI Technologies with Older Adults

There has recently been much discussion around OpenAI, Generative AI, use of chatbots and the use of other immersive technologies in the mainstream. These developments have much to offer to older adults in terms of playful, accessible and creative ways to engage with technology in everyday life. In this workshop, we are interested in developing a research agenda for HCI research with older adults to explore, enjoy, build new and extend existing interactions with such technologies. What are the possibilities they offer simply for introducing creativity, playfulness, enjoyment and ‘fun’ for older adults in everyday life? Or are there other goals that older adults want to achieve using them, such as new ways of socially engaging with their grandchildren, developing hobbies and knowledge, or simply making their lives easier? Can these tools empower older adults to explore various interaction modalities to help them achieve their goals? Finally, what are the new ways that these tools can be used to engage with older adults in the research and design of new emerging technologies? In this workshop, we will aim to generate discussion, develop a community and a roadmap for older adults’ use of technology that is playful, curious, creative and equitable. We will focus on five themes for the role of such technologies: (i) for enabling expression and creativity, (ii) as a catalyst for experience and action, (iii) for enabling reflection and awareness, (iv) for communication and (v) supporting the design process for (re) inventing new products and avenues for use. This workshop will feature co-creation and exploration of research methods and technologies, with panel and multidisciplinary discussions bringing together researchers who are interested in designing for and with older adults. We will explore new technology interactions including AI and immersive technologies within HCI; discussing methods, opportunities, and challenges in using these technologies and leveraging them for ideation, and form a multidisciplinary community for future synergies and collaborations

Organizing for Emerging Welfare Technology: Launching a Drug-Dispensing Robot for Independent Living

Emerging technologies, such as robots, virtual homecare, and sensor technologies, have considerable potentials to transform health- and eldercare. These so-called welfare technologies (WTs) are expected to increase the quality of services, empower citizens, improve working conditions for professionals, and reduce costs for care providers. However, as this transformation this involves both technological development and radical changes in how these services are organized, many promising WTs fail to advance beyond the pilot stage and create value on a large scale. This paper reports the results of a longitudinal case study of the emergence of a service robot in primary healthcare, from project launch to testing, development, and evaluation. Seeking new ways of organizing emerging technologies, nine Danish municipalities and a consortium of four private companies launched a collaborative project, aiming to develop and implement the use of a drug-dispensing robot for patients living at home. The analysis traces how project managers respond to competing concerns on innovation strategy, testing, coordination, and user mobilization and how these critical decisions shape the project’s trajectory. As such, the paper sheds new light on how to understand and manage competing concerns in the process of organizing emergent WTs

The Shifting Sands of Labour: Changes in Shared Care Work with a Smart Home Health System

Whilst the use of smart home systems has shown promise in recent years supporting older people's activities at home, there is more evidence needed to understand how these systems impact the type and the amount of shared care in the home. It is important to understand care recipients and caregivers' labour is changed with the introduction of a smart home system to efficiently and effectively support an increasingly aging population with technology. Five older households (8 participants) were interviewed before, immediately after and three months after receiving a Smart Home Health System (SHHS). We provide an identification and documentation of critical incidents and barriers that increased inter-household care work and prevented the SHHS from being successfully accepted within homes. Findings are framed within the growing body of work on smart homes for health and care, and we provide implications for designing future systems for shared home care needs

Hidden work and the challenges of scalability and sustainability in ambulatory assisted living

Assisted living technologies may help people live independently while also—potentially—reducing health and care costs. But they are notoriously difficult to implement at scale and many devices are abandoned following initial adoption. We report findings from a study of global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices intended to support the independent living of people with cognitive impairment. Our aims were threefold: to understand (through ethnography) such individuals’ lived experience of GPS tracking; to facilitate (through action research) the customization and adaptation of technologies and care services to provide effective, ongoing support; and to explore the possibilities for a co-production methodology that would enable people with cognitive impairment and their families to work with professionals and technical designers to shape these devices and services to meet their particular needs in a sustainable way. We found that the articulation work needed for maintaining the GPS technology in “working order” was extensive and ongoing. This articulation work does not merely supplement formal procedures, a lot of it is needed to get round them, but it is also often invisible and thus its importance goes largely unrecognized. If GPS technologies are to be implemented at scale and sustainably, methods must be found to capitalize on the skills and tacit knowledge held within the care network (professional and lay) to resolve problems, improve device design, devise new service solutions, and foster organizational learning