Technology use in everyday life: Implications for designing for older users

This study examines the experience and attitudes of older adults towards technology and how they compare with younger age groups. Two hundred and thirty seven participants completed an extensive questionnaire exploring their daily lifestyle, use of technology, attitudes towards technology, and perceived difficulty of household devices. The main findings from the study were; (1) there was a strong motivation to learn or to continue learning to use computers by the older group; (2) social connectedness influenced how the older group used or would like to use technology and also why some preferred not to use it; and finally (3) there was an age-related increase in perceived difficulty for many household devices, however some devices maintained intergenerational usability. These finding can be used to inform the design of future intergenerational household technologies

Supporting the Development of Gerontechnology as Part of Silver Economy Building

The concept of the "silver economy" is one of the complex response trials to the challenges of ageing societies. Its key objective is to bring goods and services to meet the needs of older people through gerontechnology. Article approximates relationships between technology and the ageing of the population and the main features of silver economy and gerontechnology. It is supplemented by examples of support efforts to promote gerontechnology including: documents and strategic programs, network organizations and clusters, research and development institutions. Essay draws attention to the development of solutions such as: strategies for innovation, welfare clusters, regional silver economy networks, research institutions such as "agelab" and cultural institutions "medialab". Study indicates potential directions for further research

Use and perception of gerontechnology: differences in a group of Spanish older adults

[EN] Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the profile of use of gerontechnology in Spanish older adults considering their age group (60–70; 71–80 and over 80 years) and to discern whether groups of subjects with similar characteristics can be established to ascertain which factors are behind the profile of frequent gerontechnology use. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative study is presented to understand the profile of use of gerontechnology in Spanish older adults. The sample comprised 497 participants (aged between 60 and 94 years). Findings – The results show that, even though most participants consider technology to be useful in their daily lives, there is still a lack of knowledge on how to use it, especially among older subjects. This highlights the importance of promoting technological cocreation initiatives such as senior living labs. Research limitations/implications – Other researchers are encouraged to include the voices of older adults using gerontechnology in further studies. Practical implications – If we want to increase the acceptance of technology by older adults, we must first let themtake part in the design of the technologies they will use. Social implications – This research provides promising data that should merit attention to contribute to the well-being and quality of lif

“Why is that robot following me?” Older participants’ perspectives of co-designing digital technology

Presentation in the International Society of Gerontechnology conference, Trondheim Norwa

Universities of the Third Age in Poland. Emerging Model for 21st Century

Main objective of this paper is to describe emergence of a Polish Universities of the Third Age model. These are a multidisciplinary non-formal education centers, which allow formation of positive responses to the challenges of an ageing population. Article indicates main organizational changes of these institutions conditioned by internal and external factors. Essay describes transformation, differentiation factors, and characteristics of these institutions for elderly based on a critical analysis of literature

Gerontechnology

Mobile health (mHealth) interventions hold the promise of augmenting existing health promotion interventions. Older adults present unique challenges in advancing new models of health promotion using technology including sensory limitations and less experience with mHealth, underscoring the need for specialized usability testing. We use an open-source mHealth device as a case example for its integration in a newly designed health services intervention. We performed a convergent, parallel mixed-methods study including semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires, using purposive sampling of 29 older adults, 4 community leaders and 7 clinicians in a rural setting We transcribed the data, developed codes informed by thematic analysis using inductive and deductive methods, and assessed the quantitative data using descriptive statistics. Our results suggest the importance of end-users in user-centered design of mHealth devices and that aesthetics are critically important. The prototype could potentially be feasibly integrated within health behavior interventions. Centralized dashboards were desired by all participants and ecological momentary assessment could be an important part of monitoring. Concerns of mHealth, including the prototype device, include the device's accuracy, its intrusiveness in daily life and privacy. Formative evaluations are critically important prior to deploying large-scale interventions.R01 MH078052/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesT32 MH073553/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesR01 MH089811/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesUL1 TR001086/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/United StatesP30 DA029926/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United StatesU48 DP005018/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United StatesU48DP005018/ACL HHS/United StatesK23 AG051681/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States2019-09-01T00:00:00Z30631251PMC6322690661

Gerontechnology

This book presents a typology that explains the diversity of ICT usage seen in older adults. It examines older adult use of everyday Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) across multiple life contexts (work, family, leisure, and community) allowing readers to understand how the growing aging population will use ICTs in their daily lives. The author offers a useful framework to practitioners (both in community based and institutional settings) who work with older adults to fully understand how technological interventions will be taken up

Comparative Analysis of National and Regional Models of the Silver Economy in the European Union

The approach to analysing population ageing and its impacts on the economy has evolved in recent years. There is increasing interest in the development and use of products and services related to gerontechnology as well as other social innovations that may be considered as central parts of the "silver economy." However, the concept of silver economy is still being formed and requires detailed research. This article proposes a typology of models of the silver economy in the European Union at the national and regional levels. This typology was created by comparing the Active Ageing Index to the typology of varieties and cultures of capitalism and typology of the welfare states. Practical recommendations for institutions of the EU and directions for further research are discussed