The Fictions, Facts, and Future of Older People and Technology

Published in December, 2009 by the UK International Longevity Centre, this document looks critically at whether technological solutions can solve the challenges of aging.

The author of this paper, Simon Roberts, Simon has led research on ageing in Europe. He designed and conducted Intel’s pioneering Global Ageing Experience study and has
conducted extensive research on transportation and mobility for older people
http://www.ilcuk.org.uk/files/pdf_pdf_112.pdf

Living in the Moment

Living in the Moment is the name of an ongoing collaborative research project between the University of Dundee and the University of St. Andrews (Scotland), which will bring to the market high-tech, designed systems for assisting people with dementia. Their first product is CIRCA, a communication support system for people with dementia. Video clips are available at the site.

http://www.computing.dundee.ac.uk/projects/LIM/

Home Modifications: Use, Cost, and Interactions with Functioning Among Near-Elderly and Older Adults

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this report analyzes new data from a module of the 2006 Health and Retirement Study on assistive home features for near-elderly and older adults.

In 2006, two-thirds of the population born in 1953 or earlier (ages 52 and older) had one or more assistive home features, about one-third added at least one of these features, and 40% used at least one feature in the last 30 days.

The most common assistive home features included railings at the home entrance (36.2%), followed by grab bars in shower/tub (30.3%) and a seat for the shower/tub (27.3%). Among those who added features, roughly 9% reported no out-of-pocket payments, one-third less than $100, another third from $100 up to $500, 10% from $500 up to $1000 and the remaining 10% over $1000. Only 6% of respondents who added features could not reported an amount in broad brackets. A very low percentage--about 6%--reported that insurance or government programs paid some of the cost.

Findings offer policy makers several new insights into the role of assistive home features in the daily lives of near-elderly and older adults.

http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/2008/homemod.htm

Technology to Support Ageing in Place

Assistive technologies which provide reminders to assist older people in decision making, particularly in a just-in-time fashion, have significant potential to help older people and their carers.

However the requirements of these technologies are not well understood and demonstration systems often rely on complex equipment which is difficult to imagine installed in a normal home setting.

This study from the Strategic Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity (UK), published June 2008, considered the reminder systems currently used by a small group of older people; their attitudes to technology; and, through some simple experiments, their reaction to certain reminders presented using a variety of simple technologies and formats. Findings highlight the need for systems which can be operated intuitively, and the need to tailor findings to the individual preferences and behaviour of the user.

http://www.sparc.ac.uk/media/downloads/executivesummaries/exec_summary_lawson.pdf

Assistive Technology and Older People

The latest Research briefing from SCIE (Social Care Institute for Excellence, UK) focuses on the ways in which assistive technology can be used by individuals, practitioners and organisations to meet the needs of older people.

http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/briefings/briefing28/index.asp