Background The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the lives of countless members of the general population. Older adults are known to experience loneliness, age discrimination, and excessive worry. It is therefore reasonable to anticipate that they would experience greater negative outcomes related to the COVID-19 pandemic given their increased isolation and risk for complications than younger adults. Objective This study aims to synthesize the existing research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated isolation and protective measures, on older adults. The secondary objective is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated isolation and protective measures, on older adults with Alzheimer disease and related dementias. Methods A rapid review of the published literature was conducted on October 6, 2020, through a search of 6 online databases to synthesize results from published original studies regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults. The Human Development Model conceptual framework–Disability Creation Process was used to describe and understand interactions between personal factors, environmental factors, and life habits. Methods and results are reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Statement. Results A total of 135 records were included from the initial search strategy of 13,452 individual studies. Of these, 113 (83.7%) studies were determined to be of level 4 according to the levels of evidence classification by the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. The presence of psychological symptoms, exacerbation of ageism, and physical deterioration of aged populations were reported in the included studies. Decreased social life and fewer in-person social interactions reported during the COVID-19 pandemic were occasionally associated with reduced quality of life and increased depression. Difficulties accessing services, sleep disturbances, and a reduction of physical activity were also noted. Conclusions Our results highlight the need for adequate isolation and protective measures. Older adults represent a heterogeneous group, which could explain the contradictory results found in the literature. Individual, organizational, and institutional strategies should be established to ensure that older adults are able to maintain social contacts, preserve family ties, and maintain the ability to give or receive help during the current pandemic. Future studies should focus on specific consequences and needs of more at-risk older adults to ensure their inclusion, both in public health recommendations and considerations made by policy makers.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic caused drastic changes in the lives of the general population. People with physical disabilities, who commonly encounter daily challenges such as barriers to community mobility, reduced access to healthcare services and higher risk of suffering from depression, may face additional challenges in the context of the pandemic. Objective This study aims to review the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated isolation and protective measures, among people with physical disabilities. Methods A rapid review of the published literature was conducted on August 10, 2020 through a search in six online databases to synthesize results from original studies regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with physical disabilities. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health was used to describe the population and the personal and environmental factors with a unified and standard health language. Results Eleven records were extracted from 1621 individual papers retrieved from the search strategy. Various impacts on daily functioning such as a decrease in access to healthcare have been noted during the pandemic. Changes in social and lifestyle habits, mood changes and decreased levels of physical activity were also noted. Conclusions Our results highlighted the lack of early research about the impacts of COVID-19 experienced by people with physical disabilities. Future studies should focus on specific consequences and needs of this vulnerable population to ensure their inclusion in public health recommendations and consideration by policy makers.

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Assistive robotic devices can be used to help people with upper body disabilities gaining more autonomy in their daily life. Although basic motions such as positioning and orienting an assistive robot gripper in space allow performance of many tasks, it might be time consuming and tedious to perform more complex tasks. To overcome these difficulties, improvements can be implemented at different levels, such as mechanical design, control interfaces and intelligent control algorithms. In order to guide the design of solutions, it is important to assess the impact and potential of different innovations. This paper thus presents the evaluation of three intelligent algorithms aiming to improve the performance of the JACO robotic arm (Kinova Robotics). The evaluated algorithms are 'preset position', 'fluidity filter' and 'drinking mode'. The algorithm evaluation was performed with 14 motorized wheelchair's users and showed a statistically significant improvement of the robot's performance.

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has caused drastic changes in the lives of the general population. Older adults are known to experience loneliness, age discrimination, and excessive worrying. It was therefore apprehended that they would experience greater negative outcomes related to the COVID-19 pandemic given their increased isolation and risks of complications. OBJECTIVE This paper aims to synthesize the existing research regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated isolation and protective measures, on older adults. METHODS A rapid review of the published literature was conducted on October 6, 2020, through a search in six online databases to synthesize results from published original studies regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults. The Human Development Model conceptual framework – Disability Creation Process (HDM-DCP) was used to describe and understand interactions between personal factors, environmental factors, and life habits. Methods and results are reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement. RESULTS 116 records were included from the initial search strategy of 9,593 individual papers. Ninety-six of 116 studies were determined to be level 4 according to the CEBM levels of evidence. The presence of psychological symptoms, the exacerbation of ageism, and the physical deterioration of aged populations have been noted. Decreased social life and fewer in-person social interactions reported during the pandemic were occasionally associated with reduced quality of life and increased depression. Difficulties accessing services, sleep disturbances and a reduction of physical activity were also noted. CONCLUSIONS Our results highlight the need for adequate isolation and protective measures. Older adults represent a heterogeneous group, which could explain the contradictory results found in the literature. Individual, organizational and institutional strategies should be put in place to assure that older adults are able to maintain social contacts, preserve family ties, and maintain the ability to give or receive help during this pandemic. Future studies should focus on specific consequences and needs of more at-risk older adults to ensure their inclusion, both in public health recommendations and consideration by policy makers. CLINICALTRIAL PROSPERO ID: CRD42020201814