Abstract
Some emerging technologies have potential to address older people’s care and support needs. However, there is still a gap in the knowledge on the potential uses of these technologies in some care domains. Therefore, a two-round Delphi survey was conducted to establish a consensus of opinion from a group of health and social technology experts (n = 21) on the potential of 10 emerging technologies to meet older people’s needs in five care and support domains. Experts were also asked to provide reasons for their choices in free-text spaces. The consensus level was set at 70%. Free-text responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. Voice activated devices was the technology that reached experts consensus in all assessed care domains. Some technologies (e.g., Artificial intelligence (AI) enabled apps and wearables and Internet of things (IoT) enabled homes) also show potential to support basic self-care and access to healthcare needs of older people. However, most of the remaining technologies (e.g., robotics, exoskeletons, virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR)) face a range of technical and acceptability issues that may hinder their adoption by older people in the near future. Findings should encourage the R & D community to address some of the identified challenges to improve the adoption of emerging technologies by older people.
Highlights
Recent statistics in the United Kingdom (UK) estimated that around 22% of males and31% of females aged over 65 years require care and support due to living with limiting long-term conditions [1]
Eleven participants were based in the UK, whereas the remaining participants were from Cyprus, Australia, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, US and Canada
Based on the findings of this study, it is plausible to expect that voice-activated devices and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled apps will play an increasing role in the care and support of older people in the near future
Summary
Recent statistics in the United Kingdom (UK) estimated that around 22% of males and31% of females aged over 65 years require care and support due to living with limiting long-term conditions [1]. The number of older people requiring care and support is expected to increase by 25% in the year 2025 [3] and 67% in the year 2040 [4], raising a challenge to meet the increasing need for care and support from the older population. Many older people with care and support needs prefer to continue living in their homes as long as possible [5]. Many concerns have been raised about the sustainability of the formal and informal care systems to meet older people’s care and support needs living at home [6,7]. The health and social care system, for instance, is facing financial pressures threatening their ability to meet increasing demands from an ageing population [6]. Carers are facing care related physical, mental and financial challenges that threaten their ability to sustain their caring responsibilities [7]
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