Nurses’ empowerment and technology use: Literature Review and Research Agenda

Abstract

Older adults are a very heterogeneous group with different preferences, needs, and lifestyles. Most older people prefer to stay at home in old age. This is also advocated by policymakers and healthcare providers as it results in lower costs to society compared to institutionalization. Digital technologies such as eHealth can cost-effectively contribute to active aging. To use technology in the care of older adults, we need empowered caregivers who can also educate older adults on the proper use of technology as a tool to maintain health. We used the method of scientific literature review. Articles were selected based on the following criteria: Accessibility, scientificity, relevance of content, and timeliness. After selection, the results were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Content analysis of nine scholarly articles provided insight into how technology is used in caregiving, whether empowered caregivers use technology in caring for older adults, and whether older adults demonstrate some level of autonomy and compliance in their use of technology. We found that technology makes an important contribution to self-management of illness, medication adherence, and contact with older adults with chronic conditions who require constant monitoring. We believe that technology will help improve care and social support for older people and make caregivers' jobs easier. This will be especially evident with the introduction of robotic technology, both in providing social support to older adults and in making it easier for caregivers to lift patients.