Development of the 'SNS Older Adults measure' (SNS-OA) to examine social network site use in older adults

Objectives: Social Networking Sites (SNSs) may ameliorate loneliness in later life but no measure of SNS use for this population exists. This study describes the development of the ‘SNS Older Adults measure’ (SNS-OA), to improve understanding of older adults’ SNS use and its relationship to social wellbeing. / Methods: The SNS-OA underwent initial development, including literature reviews and consultation with target population (n = 9) and experts (n = 9); piloting (n = 74), and evaluation of psychometric properties (n = 263). / Results: The final measure comprised three ‘motive’ scales (using SNSs to maintain close ties, maintain and strengthen weaker ties and diversion), and two ‘affect’ scales (positive/negative). Whilst many items were weakly endorsed by participants, the measure demonstrated good reliability (Cronbach α = 0.85; ICC = 0.82) and some convergent validity, with some subscales correlating with a personality measure in hypothesised directions. No statistically significant correlations were observed between the measure and social wellbeing. / Conclusions: Despite the measure’s limitations, this research has enabled a better understanding of SNS use in older adults and has important implications for research in this area. Findings also suggest a complex relationship between social wellbeing and SNS use in later life

CASCADE baseline review of current partner technology enabled care service (TECS) initiatives and proposal for a collaborative evaluation strategy

This report covers D 3.3.1 and D3.3.2 of the CASCADE project providing a preliminary summary of existing telemedicine/telehealth technologies reported in the literature alongside an analysis of existing usage reported by partner sites PP2, 3, 5, 6 and 8. Partners were asked to provide information that addressed a series of questions summarised below. 1. What technology you are currently using and why? 2. When was the technology introduced and how is it being used with what kinds of populations of residents/patients/clients/staff including the reach (numbers)? 3. How much has this technology cost to be introduced (set up costs) and how much does it cost to run (running costs)? 4. What evidence has your organisation collected to date to show what beneficial impacts it is having and why? 5. What metrics does your organisation use to demonstrate the link between the technology and improvements in quality of life indicators for your client groups/staff groups (this may be Prezo/ Belrai/ InterRai data as well as staff wellbeing survey data) and feedback from relatives and families in satisfaction questionnaires? 6. What intentions, if any, do you have to expand or introduce new telemedicine/ e-health technologies? 7. What baseline financial figures do you have to support the introduction of the technology that you can share

Cenários comunicacionais baseados em IOT para a promoção do bem-estar físico, psicológico e social dos séniores

The main objective of this research is to design and validate IoT based social hybrid scenario model that has the potential to promote psychological and physical wellbeing among older adults. The main reason to design and validate the model is age growth, older adults face psychological, physical and social well-being problems that increase mild cognitive impairment and frailty among older adults. Thus, to overcome older adults' problems, the study proposes and validates an IoT-based social hybrid scenario model. The model's features contain passive communication in which Drs, caregivers, and family members can monitor older adults' physical data from long distances. The model's features also contained intentional communication in which Older adults can interact online by text, audio, video calls, sharing images, and online activities such as painting, exercises and cooking. Moreover, older adults can do outdoor activities by inviting peers, friends or family members; the activities can be location-based IoT games, city tours, groups gardening and dinners. The outcomes of model validation will indicate how IoT characteristics can promote physical, psychological and social well-being and provide an opportunity for older adults to spend their life independently. The research that embodies this thesis includes 411 senior Portuguese Universities which are located mainland and on the island of Portugal. Using descriptive research methodology, where quantitative results are analysed, the results indicated a holistic scenario of passive and intentional communication in the context of well-being promotion among olderadults. from here, the social hybrid scenario is outlined, a hybrid model that offers passive and intentional communication between olderadults, family and medical doctors in the context of well-being promotion. The design and characteristics of the model are based on the existing knowledg, and needs of older adults, family members and also medical doctors. Such as model is a compound of passive and intentional characteristics that helps to reduce problem-related mental and physical health. The Passive and intentional communication characteristics are capable to create an environment for older adultsto take care of their psychological and physical health without any intervention and also increase their social physical and online activities, these activities help to promote the well-being of olderadults andd improve the daily lifestyle.O principal objetivo desta pesquisa é projetar e validar um modelo de cenário híbrido social baseado em IoT que tenha o potencial de promover o bem-estar psicológico e físico entre os idosos. A principal razão para projetar e validar o modelo é o crescimento da idade, os idosos enfrentam problemas psicológicos, físicos e de bem-estar social que aumentam o comprometimento cognitivo leve e a fragilidade entre os idosos. Assim, para superar os problemas dos idosos, o estudo propõe e valida um modelo de cenário híbrido social baseado em IoT. Os recursos do modelo contêm comunicação passiva na qual médicos, cuidadores e familiares podem monitorar os dados físicos dos idosos a longas distâncias. As características do modelo também contemplam comunicação intencional em que os idosos podem interagir online por meio de texto, áudio, videochamadas, compartilhamento de imagens e atividades online como pintura, exercícios e culinária. Além disso, os idosos podem fazer atividades ao ar livre convidando colegas, amigos ou familiares; as atividades podem ser jogos de IoT baseados em localização, passeios pela cidade, jardinagem em grupo e jantares. Os resultados da validação do modelo indicam como as características da IoT podem promover o bem-estar físico, psicológico e social e fornecer uma oportunidade para os idosos passarem sua vida de forma independente. A investigação que dá corpo a esta tese inclui 411 universidades portuguesas seniores localizadas no continente e na ilha de Portugal. Utilizando metodologia de pesquisa descritiva, onde são analisados resultados quantitativos, os resultados indicaram um cenário holístico de comunicação passiva e intencional no contexto da promoção do bem-estar entre idosos. a partir daqui, delineia-se o cenário social híbrido, um modelo híbrido que oferece comunicação passiva e intencional entre idosos, médicos de família e médicos no contexto da promoção do bem-estar. O desenho e as características do modelo baseiam-se no conhecimento existente e nas necessidades dos idosos, familiares e também médicos. Tal modelo é um composto de características passivas e intencionais que ajuda a reduzir os problemas relacionados com a saúde mental e física. As características de comunicação passiva e intencional são capazes de criar um ambiente para que os idosos cuidem de sua saúde psicológica e física e também aumentem suas atividades sociais físicas e online, essas atividades ajudam a promover o bem-estar dos idosos e melhorar o estilo de vida diário.Programa Doutoral em Informação e Comunicação em Plataformas Digitai

State of the art on ethical, legal, and social issues linked to audio- and video-based AAL solutions - Uploaded on December 29, 2021

Ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies are increasingly presented and sold as essential smart additions to daily life and home environments that will radically transform the healthcare and wellness markets of the future. An ethical approach and a thorough understanding of all ethics in surveillance/monitoring architectures are therefore pressing. AAL poses many ethical challenges raising questions that will affect immediate acceptance and long-term usage. Furthermore, ethical issues emerge from social inequalities and their potential exacerbation by AAL, accentuating the existing access gap between high-income countries (HIC) and low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Legal aspects mainly refer to the adherence to existing legal frameworks and cover issues related to product safety, data protection, cybersecurity, intellectual property, and access to data by public, private, and government bodies. Successful privacy-friendly AAL applications are needed, as the pressure to bring Internet of Things (IoT) devices and ones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) quickly to market cannot overlook the fact that the environments in which AAL will operate are mostly private (e.g., the home). The social issues focus on the impact of AAL technologies before and after their adoption. Future AAL technologies need to consider all aspects of equality such as gender, race, age and social disadvantages and avoid increasing loneliness and isolation among, e.g. older and frail people. Finally, the current power asymmetries between the target and general populations should not be underestimated nor should the discrepant needs and motivations of the target group and those developing and deploying AAL systems. Whilst AAL technologies provide promising solutions for the health and social care challenges, they are not exempt from ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI). A set of ELSI guidelines is needed to integrate these factors at the research and development stage

State of the art on ethical, legal, and social issues linked to audio- and videobased AAL solutions

Working Group 1. Social responsibility: Ethical, legal, social, data protection and privacy issuesAbstract Ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies are increasingly presented and sold as essential smart additions to daily life and home environments that will radically transform the healthcare and wellness markets of the future. An ethical approach and a thorough understanding of all ethics in surveillance/monitoring architectures are therefore pressing. AAL poses many ethical challenges raising questions that will affect immediate acceptance and long-term usage. Furthermore, ethical issues emerge from social inequalities and their potential exacerbation by AAL, accentuating the existing access gap between high-income countries (HIC) and low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Legal aspects mainly refer to the adherence to existing legal frameworks and cover issues related to product safety, data protection, cybersecurity, intellectual property, and access to data by public, private, and government bodies. Successful privacy-friendly AAL applications are needed, as the pressure to bring Internet of Things (IoT) devices and ones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) quickly to market cannot overlook the fact that the environments in which AAL will operate are mostly private (e.g., the home). The social issues focus on the impact of AAL technologies before and after their adoption. Future AAL technologies need to consider all aspects of equality such as gender, race, age and social disadvantages and avoid increasing loneliness and isolation among, e.g. older and frail people. Finally, the current power asymmetries between the target and general populations should not be underestimated nor should the discrepant needs and motivations of the target group and those developing and deploying AAL systems. Whilst AAL technologies provide promising solutions for the health and social care challenges, they are not exempt from ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI). A set of ELSI guidelines is needed to integrate these factors at the research and development stage. Keywords Ethical principles, Privacy, Assistive Living Technologies, Privacy by Design, General Data Protection Regulation.publishedVersio

Future bathroom: A study of user-centred design principles affecting usability, safety and satisfaction in bathrooms for people living with disabilities

Research and development work relating to assistive technology 2010-11 (Department of Health) Presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 22 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 197

Intergenerational interpretation of the Internet of Things

This report investigates how different generations within a household interpret individual members’ data generated by the Internet of Things (IoT). Adopting a mixed methods approach, we are interested in interpretations of the IoT by teenagers, their parents and grandparents, and how they understand and interact with the kinds of data that might be generated by IoT devices. The first part of this document is a technical review that outlines the key existing and envisaged technologies that make up the IoT. It explores the definition and scope of the Internet of Things. Hardware, networking, intelligent objects and Human-Computer Interaction implications are all discussed in detail. The second section focuses on the human perspective, looking at psychological and sociological issues relating to the interpretation of information generated by the IoT. Areas such as privacy, data ambiguity, ageism, and confirmation bias are explored. The third section brings both aspects together, examining how technical and social aspects of the IoT interact in four specific application domains: energy monitoring, groceries and shopping, physical gaming, and sharing experiences. This section also presents three household scenarios developed to communicate and explore the complexities of integrating IoT technologies into family life. The final section draws together all the findings and suggests future research