Lessons Learned From the SoBeezy Program for Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experimentation and Evaluation

Abstract

Background The SoBeezy program is an innovative intervention aimed at promoting and fostering healthy aging and aging in place by proposing to older adults concrete solutions to face daily life, tackle loneliness, promote social participation, and reduce the digital divide, thanks to a specific, easy-to-use voice assistant (the BeeVA smart display). Objective This study aims to assess the acceptability of the SoBeezy program and its voice assistant and to identify potential areas of improvement. Methods A 12-month experimentation of the program was deployed in real-life conditions among older adults living in the community in 4 pilot cities of France. Launched during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 crisis, this multisite study aimed to assess acceptability using questionnaires and interviews conducted at baseline and at the end of the experimentation. In addition, a series of meetings were conducted with SoBeezy staff members to obtain direct feedback from the ground. Results In total, 109 older individuals were equipped with BeeVA to use the SoBeezy program; of these, 32 (29.4%) left the experimentation before its end and 69 (63.3%) completed the final questionnaires. In total, 335 interventions were conducted and 27 (39%) of the participants requested services, mainly for supportive calls and visits and assistance with shopping, transportation, and crafting-gardening. Of the whole sample, 52 (75%) considered BeeVA as a reassuring presence, and few persons (15/69, 22%) reported a negative opinion about the program. Among the participants, the voice assistant appeared easy to use (n=57, 82%) and useful (n=53, 77%). They also were positive about the BeeVA smart display and the SoBeezy intervention. Conclusions This multisite study conducted in real-life conditions among more than 100 older adults living in the community provides enlightening results of the reality from the ground of digital tools designed for the aging population. The COVID-19 context appeared both as an opportunity, given the massive needs of the older adults during this crisis, and as limiting due to sanitary constraints. Nevertheless, the experimentation showed overall good acceptability of the voice assistant and a high level of satisfaction of the participants among those who really used the system and could be a way of improving the autonomy and well-being of older adults and their families. However, the findings also highlighted resistance to change and difficulties for the users to ask for help. The experimentation also emphasized levers for next deployments and future research. The next step will be the experimentation of the activity-sharing component that could not be tested due to the COVID-19 context.

Reducing Loneliness and Social Isolation of Older Adults Through Voice Assistants: Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis

“…The remaining articles involve a minimum of 7 and a maximum of 109 older adults. Among the selected articles, the age of the population varies widely, including people aged >50 [ 22 , 24 , 26 , 30 ], >60 [ 23 , 33 ], >65 [ 27 , 29 ], and >75 years [ 28 ]. Naturally, professionals are younger, ranging from 21 [ 29 ] to 33 [ 36 ] years.…”

“…In addition, 25% (4/16) of the articles consider participants’ familiarity with technology, involving only people with no experience with VA technology [ 26 ] and digital devices [ 31 ], involving only people with low technology use [ 32 ], or specifying people’s technological abilities [ 27 ]. In addition, some studies consider clinical conditions: 6% (1/16) of the articles [ 22 ] included people with diabetes or long-term health conditions, whereas others include people with postacute COVID-19 syndrome [ 24 ]; with normative cognitive functioning [ 28 ]; with no severe visual or hearing impairment and no moderate to severe cognitive impairment [ 30 ]; with mild difficulties in social skills, depression and anxiety symptoms, and nonverbal impairment [ 33 ]; and without dementia [ 36 ].…”

“…Qualitative studies include 1 (6%) service evaluation [ 22 ], 1 (6%) evaluation test [ 29 ], and 1 (6%) pre- post study [ 32 ]. Then, there are 5 (31%) mixed studies, including both qualitative and quantitative methods, of which 1 (6%) is an evaluation test [ 27 ], 1 (6%) is a single-group quasi-experimental study [ 28 ], 1 (6%) is a pre-post study [ 30 ], 1 (6%) is a randomized controlled trial [ 33 ], and 1 (6%) was a usability study [ 36 ]. Finally, the remaining studies include 1 (6%) mini review [ 25 ], 2 (13%) conference speeches [ 35 , 37 ], and 1 (6%) study protocol [ 31 ].…”

“…Of these 16 studies, only 1 (6%) [ 28 ] uses a standardized instrument—the 8-item University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale—to assess the perception of loneliness. Instead, most articles (9/16, 56%) [ 22 - 24 , 27 , 29 , 30 , 32 , 35 , 36 ] focus on topics related to the acceptability, user experience, satisfaction, and usability of the technological solution, whereas a smaller number (2/16, 13%) [ 26 , 34 ] focuses on its technical performance. To evaluate these aspects, 5-point Likert scales are used only by 19% (3/16) of the articles [ 23 , 27 , 36 ].…”

“…Regarding the VA, it is considered useful [ 24 ], satisfying [ 23 , 27 ], and interesting [ 36 ], and it obtains good results in the acknowledgment (the ability to recognize user contextual information) and engagement (the ability to maintain a coherent conversation) performance [ 34 ]. In addition, among participants in the study by Pech et al [ 30 ], 63% have a positive opinion toward the system used, and in the study by Striegl et al [ 36 ], both older adults and formal caregivers describe that the VA used have a high feasibility to support people with dementia in activities of daily living.…”