Smart home technology to support older people's quality of life: A longitudinal pilot study

Abstract

Aim This pilot study aimed to explore the impact of Smart Home technology to support older people’s quality of life, particularly for those who live alone. Background There has been an increased interest in using innovative technologies and artificial intelligence to enable Smart Home technology to support older people to age independently in their own homes. Methods This study used a pre‐and post‐test design. The seven item Personal Wellbeing Index was used to measure participants’ subjective quality of life across seven quality of life domains. Participants (n = 60) aged between 68 and 90 years (M = 80.10, SD = 5.56) completed a 12‐week personalised Smart Home technology program. Results Approximately half of the participants lived alone (48.3%). Participants’ quality of life significantly increased (p = 0.010) after Smart Home use. Two domains, “achieving in life” (p = 0.026) and “future security” (p = 0.004), were also significantly improved after participating in the Smart Home technology program. Improvements in quality of life did not vary as a function of living arrangement (all ps > .152, all ηp2 > .00). Conclusion The current study provides preliminary evidence for the role of Smart Home technology in supporting older people’s quality of life, particularly their sense of achieving in life and future security.

Research priorities in HIV, aging and rehabilitation: Building on a Framework with the Canada-International HIV and Rehabilitation Research Collaborative

“…Technology has been used widely for education, accessing health and rehabilitation services, and implementing interventions in the context of HIV; this includes smartphone and app technology to facilitate engagement in care, medication adherence, neurocognitive assessment, and exercise (26-29), virtual driving test platforms to assess the ability to drive among persons with HIV and neurocognitive impairment (30), and tele-health exercise interventions with adults aging with HIV (20,31,32). Arti cial intelligence also is used with older adults for remote patient monitoring and smart home technology (33)(34)(35), assessment of mobility with mobility disorders (36, 37) or dementia (38), as well as facilitating rehabilitation assessment and treatment in order adults (39). Nevertheless, stakeholders in this consultation highlighted that online forms of rehabilitation were not a one-size-ts-all, and not always a replacement for in-person interventions.…”

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“…Studies investigating monitoring technologies have demonstrated the benefits of home sensors in prolonging independent living for older adults (Facchinetti et al 2023, Aggar et al 2023). In the present case study, the NoKs' reported that the use of the Howz sensors allowed for the independence and privacy of their ageing parent while maintaining a family support system.…”

A Technology-Based Intervention to Support Older Adults in Living Independently: Protocol for a Cross-National Feasibility Pilot

“…To address these challenges, several projects have been developed. For example, after a 12-week Smart Home personalized technology program, participants’ quality of life increased significantly [ 21 ], the Fik@ room web platform allowed social connection among older adults in a secure digital environment [ 22 ], and the SMART4MD mobile application [ 23 ] facilitated a sense of coherence for older persons with cognitive impairment.…”