Analysis of Smart Home Technology Acceptance and Preference for Elderly in Dubai, UAE

Abstract

The elderly are the most predicted users for smart home technology in the United Arab Emirates and the population over 65 is expected to increase to 24.3% by 2030. Despite the rapid development of smart home technology, research has been mainly focused on technology development. To encourage conservative elderly users, however, smart home technology should be implemented for UAE elderly users to accept and integrate it into their daily lives. The objective of this paper is to analyze the preferences and needs of smart home technologies to understand the behaviors of UAE elderly users, and the factors affecting the acceptance of technology. As a methodology, a survey and interview were conducted for 110 people in their 40s and 60s and a total of 105 valid survey responses were collected and used as data for frequency, mean, cross-analysis, independent sample t-test, one-way variance analysis, and multiple regression analysis with IBM SPSS statistics 27. The results showed that 67.0% of UAE elderly users have chronic diseases such as high blood pressure (16.2%), heart disease (3.8%), diabetes (32.4%), or arthritis (10.5%). Therefore, smart home technology for health management is inevitable to improve overall lifestyles. It was statistically proven that UAE elderly users want automatic fall detection in the living room (39.0%) and bedroom (25.7%). Lifestyle monitoring in living room (44.7%) and bedroom (18.1%); the elderly preferred living room most for daily life assistance (36.2%), environmental control (50.5%), health and biometric monitoring (49.5%), and video conferencing (82.9%). In the case of sensors, elderly preferred the switch at the entrance (36.2%), and motion detecting sensors (42.9%), video cameras (56.2%), and voice recognition (50.5%) sensors in the living room. However, UAE elderly users do not think smart home technology can protect their privacy. It is found that age group and computer technology affinity are the most influential variables and UAE elderly users have an anxiety about technology, which influenced the acceptance of smart home technology.

Evaluating the Color Preferences for Elderly Depression in the United Arab Emirates

“…As human become old, their physical functions deteriorate, and they suffer from various age-related chronic diseases and exhibit anxiety and depressive symptoms [5].…”

A study on community older people’s willingness to use smart home—an extended technology acceptance model with intergenerational relationships

“…Numerous studies have indicated the significance of the social relationships of older adults, including support and guidance from family and friends, in the adoption of technology ( 14 , 17 , 33 ). Due to the importance of family bonds in traditional Chinese culture, many citizens prefer the three-in-a-row model where parents and children provide intergenerational upward and downward support.…”

“…Several studies have examined the factors that influence the acceptance of smart home services by older adults, including personal and environmental perception factors. Personal perception factors comprise perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived cost ( 16 ), facilitating conditions ( 7 ),technology anxiety ( 17 ), and security and privacy concerns ( 16–18 ). Environmental perception factors include social influence ( 7 , 18 ), subjective norms ( 15 ), cultural influence ( 7 ), family management policies, and government policies ( 18 ).…”

“…In the older adult population of Hong Kong, age and gender directly influence the use of geriatric technology ( 14 ). In the field of smart homes, Arar et al ( 17 ) reported that age is the most significant determinant of the acceptability of smart home services among the older adult in the UAE. So, the experiment’s control variables include age and gender.…”

On the Adoption of Smart Home Technology in Switzerland: Results from a Survey Study Focusing on Prevention and Active Healthy Aging Aspects

“…It encompasses common devices such as door locks, water leak detectors, and motion sensors [24]. In fact, safety products or features are among the most popular SH products in all age groups [24,29]. The popularity appears to follow a chronological order, with the most recent innovations being the least preferred [24].…”