The SHAPES Smart Mirror Approach for Independent Living, Healthy and Active Ageing

The benefits that technology can provide in terms of health and support for independent living are in many cases not enough to break the barriers that prevent older adults from accepting and embracing technology. This work proposes a hardware and software platform based on a smart mirror, which is equipped with a set of digital solutions whose main focus is to overcome older adults’ reluctance to use technology at home and wearable devices on the move. The system has been developed in the context of two use cases: the support of independent living for older individuals with neurodegenerative diseases and the promotion of physical rehabilitation activities at home. Aspects such as reliability, usability, consumption of computational resources, performance and accuracy of the proposed platform and digital solutions have been evaluated in the initial stages of the pilots within the SHAPES project, an EU-funded innovation action. It can be concluded that the SHAPES smart mirror has the potential to contribute as a technological breakthrough to overcome the barriers that prevent older adults from engaging in the use of assistive technologies.

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HOME AND COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE FOR FRAIL OLDER ADULTS: A PATIENT, CAREGIVER, AND PRACTITIONER PERSPECTIVE

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.2546 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S691-S691

Author(s):

Andrew McDonald ◽

Rowena Rizzotti ◽

Joanna Rivera ◽

Grace Park ◽

Antonina Garm ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Independent Living ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Community Healthcare ◽

Use Of Technology ◽

Age Related ◽

Group Members ◽

Tracking Devices ◽

At Home

Abstract Frailty and the decline in ability to maintain independent living may be forestalled through discussions with healthcare providers and seniors about managing health at home. In addition, the use of technology in supplementing doctors’ visits to assess frailty progression may be easily adopted by some but not others. We conducted this qualitative study to elucidate the context in which seniors access care at home and current barriers to independent living, from the perspectives of both seniors and practitioners. Pre-approved discussion questions were administered to two audio-recorded focus group sessions of 14 participants. The first group were community-dwelling older adults and informal caregivers, while the second consisted of healthcare practitioners. Group members were sampled to include a range of health backgrounds and levels of technological expertise. Thematic analysis with NVivo Software was used to parse out key discussion topics from the audio transcripts. The caregiver/patient group emphasized the stigma of frailty and age-related isolation, desiring transparency and advocacy from care teams. Practitioners/researchers discussed the importance of a holistic biopsychosocial approach to frailty management and the need for standardized frailty measurement. Patients/caregivers used health-tracking devices at home and were more optimistic about telehealth/video-conferencing than practitioners. Awareness of contextual factors surrounding “aging in place” and what aspects of care are valued by patients and practitioners is key to advancing home health and paving the way for new evidence-based services in the home.

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Age-Friendly Built Environment

Encyclopedia ◽

10.3390/encyclopedia1030060 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 781-791

Author(s):

Hing-Wah Chau ◽

Elmira Jamei

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Built Environment ◽

Independent Living ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

World Health Organisation ◽

Living Environment ◽

World Health ◽

Active Ageing ◽

Outdoor Spaces ◽

Wide Range

Age-friendly built environments have been promoted by the World Health Organisation (WHO, Geneva, Switzerland) under the Global Age-friendly Cities (AFC) movement in which three domains are related to the built environment. These are: housing, transportation, outdoor spaces and public buildings. The aim is to foster active ageing by optimising opportunities for older adults to maximise their independent living ability and participate in their communities to enhance their quality of life and wellbeing. An age-friendly built environment is inclusive, accessible, respects individual needs and addresses the wide range of capacities across the course of life. Age-friendly housing promotes ageing in familiar surroundings and maintains social connections at the neighbourhood and community levels. Both age-friendly housing and buildings provide barrier-free provisions to minimise the needs for subsequent adaptations. Age-friendly public and outdoor spaces encourage older adults to spend time outside and engage with others against isolation and loneliness. Age-friendly public transport enables older adults to get around and enhances their mobility. For achieving an age-friendly living environment, a holistic approach is required to enable independent living, inclusion and active participation of older adults in society. The eight domains of the AFC movement are not mutually exclusive but overlap and support with one another.

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Smart Environments and Social Robots for Age-Friendly Integrated Care Services

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17113801 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (11) ◽

pp. 3801 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ionut Anghel ◽

Tudor Cioara ◽

Dorin Moldovan ◽

Marcel Antal ◽

Claudia Daniela Pop ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Integrated Care ◽

Social Services ◽

Independent Living ◽

Cognitive Activity ◽

Assistive Technologies ◽

World Health ◽

Smart Environments ◽

Care Services ◽

Intervention Point

The world is facing major societal challenges because of an aging population that is putting increasing pressure on the sustainability of care. While demand for care and social services is steadily increasing, the supply is constrained by the decreasing workforce. The development of smart, physical, social and age-friendly environments is identified by World Health Organization (WHO) as a key intervention point for enabling older adults, enabling them to remain as much possible in their residences, delay institutionalization, and ultimately, improve quality of life. In this study, we survey smart environments, machine learning and robot assistive technologies that can offer support for the independent living of older adults and provide age-friendly care services. We describe two examples of integrated care services that are using assistive technologies in innovative ways to assess and deliver of timely interventions for polypharmacy management and for social and cognitive activity support in older adults. We describe the architectural views of these services, focusing on details about technology usage, end-user interaction flows and data models that are developed or enhanced to achieve the envisioned objective of healthier, safer, more independent and socially connected older people.

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SELF-ADMINISTERED COGNITIVE TESTING BY OLDER ADULTS AT-RISK FOR COGNITIVE DECLINE

Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease ◽

10.14283/jpad.2020.25 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

E. Tsoy ◽

K.L. Possin ◽

N. Thompson ◽

K. Patel ◽

S.K. Garrigues ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

At Risk ◽

Executive Functioning ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Prior Experience ◽

Cognitive Testing ◽

Tablet Computer ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Technology Experience ◽

At Home

Self-administered computerized cognitive testing could effectively monitor older individuals at-risk for cognitive decline at home. In this study, we tested the feasibility and reliability of 3 tablet-based executive functioning measures and an executive composite score in a sample of 30 older adults (age 80±6) with high multimorbidity. The tests were examiner-administered at baseline and then self-administered by the participants at home across 2 subsequent days. Eight of the participants reported no prior experience with touchscreen technology. Twenty-seven participants completed both self-administered assessments, and 28 completed at least one. Cronbach’s alpha (individual tests: .87-.89, composite: .93) and correlations between examiner-administered and self-administered performances (individual tests: .72-.91, composite: .93) were high. The participants who had never used a smartphone or a tablet computer showed comparable consistency. Remote self-administered tablet-based testing in older adults at-risk for cognitive decline is feasible and reliable, even among participants without prior technology experience.

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Single Stance Stability and Proprioceptive Control in Older Adults Living at Home: Gender and Age Differences

Journal of Aging Research ◽

10.1155/2013/561695 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 ◽

pp. 1-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Dario Riva ◽

Carlo Mamo ◽

Mara Fanì ◽

Patrizia Saccavino ◽

Flavio Rocca ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Effective Prevention ◽

Gender And Age ◽

Visual Stabilization ◽

Gender And Age Differences ◽

Older Subjects ◽

And Gender ◽

At Home

In developed countries, falls in older people represent a rising problem. As effective prevention should start before the risk becomes evident, an early predictor is needed. Single stance instability would appear as a major risk factor. Aims of the study were to describe single stance stability, its sensory components, and their correlation with age and gender. A random sample of 597 older adults (319 men, 278 women) living at home, aged 65–84, was studied. Stability tests were performed with an electronic postural station. The single stance test showed the impairment of single stance stability in older individuals (75–84 yrs). The significant decline of stability in the older subjects may be explained by the impairment of proprioceptive control together with the decrease in compensatory visual stabilization and emergency responses. Younger subjects (65–74 yrs) exhibited better, but still inadequate, proprioceptive control with compensatory visual stabilization. Gender differences appeared in older subjects: women were significantly less stable than men. The measurement of the sensory components of single stance stability could aid in the early detection of a decay in antigravity movements many years before the risk of falling becomes evident. Adequate proprioceptive control could mitigate the effects of all other risks of falling.

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Designing Kitchen Technologies for Ageing in Place

Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive Mobile Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies ◽

10.1145/3463516 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 1-19

Author(s):

Sanna Kuoppamäki ◽

Sylvaine Tuncer ◽

Sara Eriksson ◽

Donald McMillan

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

User Interfaces ◽

Independent Living ◽

Moving Objects ◽

Assistive Technologies ◽

Ageing In Place ◽

Video Recordings ◽

Spatial Alignment ◽

Cooking Process ◽

Physical Interactions

Assistive technologies can significantly increase older adults' independent living if these technologies are designed to meet their needs and abilities. This study investigates conditions and present possibilities for assistive technology to provide physical and cognitive support to older adults in a specific domestic task, which is cooking a meal at home. The empirical material consists of six video recordings of adults aged 65 and over preparing a meal in their kitchen. The study unpacks the complexity of kitchen tasks, from the physical interactions involved to the temporal and spatial alignment of objects and goals in the kitchen. We focus on a) Physical manipulation, such as chopping, opening packages, and moving objects around the kitchen, b) Organisation and coordination, including switching, synchronising and monitoring cooking tasks, and c) Reorchestration and reorganisation in the form of inserting additional tasks, and rearranging tools and ingredients when adjustments need to be made in the cooking process. The study outlines design principles for operational and organisational interventions to support cooking a meal for independent living. The study concludes with discussing design implications for conversational user interfaces in the kitchen, and the significance of assistive kitchen technologies for ageing in place.

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Perceived Voice Disorders in Older Adults and Impact on Social Interactions

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2020_persp-20-00059 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Connie K. Porcaro ◽

Clare Singer ◽

Boris Djokic ◽

Ali A. Danesh ◽

Ruth Tappen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Social Interactions ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Leisure Activities ◽

Treatment Strategies ◽

Voice Disorders ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Vocal Performance ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Cross Sectional

Purpose Many aging individuals, even those who are healthy, report voice changes that can impact their ability to communicate as they once did. While this is commonly reported, most do not seek evaluation or management for this issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and differences in voice disorders in older adults, along with the effect of fatigue on their social interactions. Method This is a cross-sectional investigation of a community-dwelling sample of individuals aged 60 years or older. Participants completed the Questionnaire on Vocal Performance, the Social Engagement Index subset “Engagement in Social or Leisure Activities,” and the Fatigue Severity Scale. Results Results indicated 32.5% of the 332 participants reported symptoms of voice problems with no difference found between male and female respondents. A slight increase in report of voice problems was noted with each year of age. Participants who self-reported voice problems indicated less interaction in social activities involving communication than those who did not. Finally, as severity of self-reported voice problems increased, an increase was reported by the same individuals for signs of fatigue. Conclusions Voice problems and resulting decreased social interaction are commonly experienced by older individuals. Voice symptoms in older adults have been found to benefit from evidence-based treatment strategies. It is critical to provide education to encourage older individuals to seek appropriate evaluation and management for voice issues through a speech-language pathologist or medical professional.

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Age Advantages of Emotional Experience during the COVID-19 Pandemic are Robust, but Diminished Compared to Pre-pandemic Conditions

10.31234/osf.io/h2fsq ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Rui Sun ◽

Disa Sauter

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Large Scale ◽

Negative Emotion ◽

Emotional Experience ◽

Negative Emotions ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Selection Strategies ◽

Scale Test ◽

Prolonged Stress

Getting old is generally seen as unappealing, yet aging confers considerable advantages in several psychological domains (North & Fiske, 2015). In particular, older adults are better off emotionally than younger adults, with aging associated with the so-called “age advantages,” that is, more positive and less negative emotional experiences (Carstensen et al., 2011). Although the age advantages are well established, it is less clear whether they occur under conditions of prolonged stress. In a recent study, Carstensen et al (2020) demonstrated that the age advantages persist during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that older adults are able to utilise cognitive and behavioural strategies to ameliorate even sustained stress. Here, we build on Carstensen and colleagues’ work with two studies. In Study 1, we provide a large-scale test of the robustness of Carstensen and colleagues’ finding that older individuals experience more positive and less negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic. We measured positive and negative emotions along with age information in 23,629 participants in 63 countries in April-May 2020. In Study 2, we provide a comparison of the age advantages using representative samples collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We demonstrate that older people experience less negative emotion than younger people during the prolonged stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the advantage of older adults was diminished during the pandemic, pointing to a likely role of older adults use of situation selection strategies (Charles, 2010).

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