Acceptance of care technologies to support activities of daily living by middle-aged and older adults in Japan: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Various technologies to provide long-term care have been developed in the last decade due to the shortage of caregivers in Japan. However, care technologies are not widely used in long-term care, and the reasons for the lack of acceptance of care technologies are poorly understood. To identify the factors associated with the acceptance of care technologies designed to assist with activities of daily living (i.e., bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, and eating) among middle-aged and older adults in Japan. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in August 2020. The target population was middle-aged and older adults (i.e., 40–79 years) in Japan. We used an online questionnaire platform of a research company to target people throughout Japan, and measured the acceptance of care technologies to support the performance of each of five activities of daily living. Multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to identify the associated factors using the bivariate variable “willingness to use care technologies for activities of daily living” as the dependent variable. A total of 3261 eligible respondents were included in the analysis. The factors positively associated with the acceptance of care technologies for transferring, which had the highest level of acceptance, were female sex (adjusted odds ratio=1.25, 95% CI: 1.04–1.52), university or higher education level (1.73, 1.41–2.12), an annual income of 39000 to 58999 USD (1.47, 1.08–2.01) or greater than 99,000 USD (1.88, 1.21–2.94), experience as an informal caregiver (1.25, 1.02–1.54), the use of social networking services a few times per year (1.40, 1.11–1.78) or nearly every day (1.47, 1.19–1.82), and willingness to live in a nursing home when care is needed (1.29, 1.05–1.60). In contrast, aged 70–79 years was negatively associated with the acceptance of care technologies for transferring (0.70, 0.52–0.93). Female sex, university or higher education level, an annual income greater than 99,000 USD, the use of social networking services a few times per year or more often, and willingness to live in a nursing home when care is needed were positively associated with the acceptance of care technologies for multiple activities of daily living. Given that many of the respondents will need care in 5–10 years, the acceptance of care technologies among those who need care will increase. Therefore, governments and developers of care technologies could consider the potential needs of this population group.