Benefits And Challenges To Using Health Related Information And Communication Technologies Among Older Adults

To explore how mobile technology can be employed to enhance the lives of older adults, the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine commissioned 6 papers, which were presented at a workshop held on December 11 and 12, 2019. These papers review research on mobile technologies and aging, and highlight promising avenues for further research.

Aging, Health and Technology takes a problem-centered approach to examine how older adults use technology for health. It examines the many ways in which technology is being used by older adults, focusing on challenges, solutions and perspectives of the older user. Using aging-health technology as a lens, the book examines issues of technology adoption, basic human factors, cognitive aging, mental health, aging and usability, privacy, trust and automation. Each chapter takes a case study approach to summarize lessons learned from unique examples that can be applied to similar projects, while also providing general information about older adults and technology. Discusses human factors design challenges specific to older adults Covers the wide range of health-related uses for technology—from fitness to leading a more engaged life Utilizes a case study approach for practical application Envisions what the future will hold for technology and older adults Employs a roster of interdisciplinary contributors

More and more people live into old age. This demographic revolution underscores the fact that old age is the last uncharted and unattended phase of the life cycle.

Emerging and currently available technologies offer great promise for helping older adults, even those without serious disabilities, to live healthy, comfortable, and productive lives. What technologies offer the most potential benefit? What challenges must be overcome, what problems must be solved, for this promise to be fulfilled? How can federal agencies like the National Institute on Aging best use their resources to support the translation from laboratory findings to useful, marketable products and services? Technology for Adaptive Aging is the product of a workshop that brought together distinguished experts in aging research and in technology to discuss applications of technology to communication, education and learning, employment, health, living environments, and transportation for older adults. It includes all of the workshop papers and the report of the committee that organized the workshop. The committee report synthesizes and evaluates the points made in the workshop papers and recommends priorities for federal support of translational research in technology for older adults.

The study of older adults and internet use has emerged as a specific area of interest which covers a wide range of topics ranging from behaviors of senior adults in information search to attitude toward the internet, to the use of the internet for personal and health issues, and to cognitive constrains of seniors in Internet use. Engaging Older Adults with Modern Technology: Internet Use and Information Access Needs takes a structured approach to the research in aging and digital technology in which older adults’ use of internet and other forms of digital technologies is studied through the lenses of cognitive functioning, motivation, and affordances of new technology. This book identifies the role and function of internet and other forms of digital technology in older adult learning. It also bridges the theories with practices in older adults’ internet/digital technology use by focusing on effective design and development of internet and other digital technologies for older adults’ learning. This title is targeted towards educators globally with an emphasis on diverse aspects in older adult and internet learning that include learner characteristics, cognition, design principles and applications.

The challenge of population aging requires innovative approaches to meet the needs of increasing numbers of older people. Emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as pervasive computing and ambient assistive technology, have considerable potential for enhancing the quality of life of many older people by providing additional safety and security while also supporting mobility, independent living, and social participation. The proposed book will be a landmark publication in the area of technology and aging that will serve as a statement of the current state-of-the-art and as a pointer to directions for future research and emerging technologies, products, and services.

The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) carries out research in the field of ageing, with a focus on the role that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can play to promote Active Ageing. This book attempts to reflect aspects of the contribution ICT can make to quality of life for older citizens in Europe.

This book looks at how AgeTech can support the autonomy and independence of people as they grow older. The authors challenge readers to reflect on the concepts of autonomy and independence not as absolutes but as experiences situated within older adults’ social connections and environments. Eleven personas of people around the world provide the context for readers to consider the influence of culture and values on how we understand autonomy and independence and the potential role of technology-based supports. The global pandemic provides a backdrop for the unprecedentedly rapid adoption of AgeTech, such as information and communication technologies or mobile applications that benefit older adults. Each persona in the book demonstrates the opportunity for AgeTech to facilitate autonomy and independence in supporting one’s identity, decision making, advance care planning, self care, health management, economic and social participation, enjoyment and self fulfillment and mobility in the community. The book features AgeTech from around the world to provide examples of commercially available products as well as research and development within the field. Despite the promise of AgeTech, the book highlights the “digital divide,” where some older people experience inadequate access to technology due to their geographic location, socio-economic status, and age. This book is accessible and relevant to everyday readers. Older adults will recognize themselves or peers in the personas and may glean insight from the solutions. Care partners and service providers will identify with the challenges of the personas. AgeTech entrepreneurs, especially “seniorpreneurs,” will appreciate that their endeavours represent a growing trend. Researchers will be reminded that the most important research questions are those that will enhance the quality of life of older adults and their sense of autonomy and independence, or relational autonomy and interdependence.

The escalating pressures put on the US healthcare system, due in part to the growing needs of the expanding older adult population, has motivated research dedicated to more fully understanding the mental health and mental well-being needs of this population and ways to address these needs and alleviate the pressure on the healthcare system. An increasing area of interest is in examining the role information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as Internet-connected computers and smartphones, in the health of older adults. Research has shown that ICTs can successfully be used to help treat, manage, and cope with mental health/well-being issues, but previous literature also finds that ICTs can contribute to mental health/well-being outcomes more directly. While studies have shown that ICTs may benefit older adults with regards to mental health/well-being, less is known through what mechanisms this relationship is enacted. This study uses data from the Health and Retirement Study to compare Internet-using older adults (aged 65+) with non-users on depression, life satisfaction, loneliness, personal growth, and purpose in life. Specific attention is given to examining the potential mediating roles of social integration (i.e., quantity of social ties) and social support (i.e., quality of social ties), as a Durkheimian perspective of Internet use argues that Internet use can be both beneficial and detrimental to an individual's social life, and changes in social life through Internet use can in turn affect mental health/well-being. Results of cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses finds Internet users, compared to iv non-users, typically enjoy more favorable mental health/well-being outcomes. Measures of social integration and social support are found to mediate the relationship between Internet use and mental health/well-being, but only partially. Additional analyses find that demographic characteristics, such as income and functional limitations, moderate the relationship between Internet use and mental health/well-being in older adults. The findings suggest that ICT interventions that incorporate elements that help older adults maintain social contacts and develop new ones may lessen mental health/well-being issues and the burdens associated with them.