| Abstract (ENG): |
Introduction: Assistive technology (AT) can increase older adults’ independence by supporting safety, communication, or autonomy. Especially multimorbid or frail people might benefit from a compensation of disease related impairments. AT are manifold and heterogenous. Examples are fall sensors, medication dispensers, or health applications. The current use of AT among older adults is unknown.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to determine how often AT are used among community-dwelling adults aged 65+. To enable participation of older adults with different ranges of digital literacy, a paper-based questionnaire was developed, which included questions related to three domains: sociodemographic aspects, health status, and technology use. In April 2021 2,500 randomly selected adults aged 65+ were contacted via mail with a cover letter, the questionnaire, and a stamped return envelope. Addresses were obtained through regional registration offices. Returned questionnaires were scanned and answers automatically recorded using the software QuestorPro (Blubbsoft GmbH). Free text was entered manually. Data analysis was performed using R.
Results: A total of 619 people with a mean age of 74.3 (±7.1) responded (response rate 24.8%). In the study sample of 585 (94.5%) participants with no missing data, gender was distributed equally with 295 (50.4%) women and 290 (49.6%) men. The level of education was ≤ 9 years for 280 (47.9%), 10 years for 163 (27.9%), and ≥12 years for 142 (24.3%) participants. Regarding health status, 43 (7.3%) participants had no medical condition, 234 (40.0%) reported one or two comorbidities and more than 50% (n=308, 52.6%) reported three or more illnesses. Overall, 150 (27.0%) had little or no interest in new technologies, whereas 311 (53.2%) and 116 (19.8%) expressed a medium and strong interest, respectively. Strong interest was significantly higher in those with higher education (X2 (6, 585) = 58.24, p<.001). The top five devices owned were a landline phone (n=545, 93.2%), a body scale (n=443, 75.7%), a blood pressure monitor (n=432, 73.8%), a computer (including a laptop) (n=426, 72.8%), and a smartphone (n=415, 70.9%). The level of education was positively associated with the use of computer (X2 (2, 585) = 40.45, p<.001) or smartphone (X2 (2, 585) = 19.9, p<.001). Health applications were used by 30 persons (5.13%), an electric walker and fall sensor only by two persons (0.34%) respectively, and an electric medication dispenser and tremor spoon each by one (0.17%) person.
Discussion: Our study showed that “classic” devices such as landline phones, body scales, and blood pressure monitors are most frequently used among those 65+. These devices mainly support communication and health related safety. More than 70% own a computer or a smartphone, 62.1% both devices, correlating with other numbers reported for this age group. Despite the high prevalence of multimorbidity, devices associated with multimorbidity or frailty were hardly reported. The observed lower use of more recent, innovative devices might be due, in part, to a lack of knowledge about existing AT.
Conclusion: Most older adults use classic devices for assistance with communication or health related safety. New, innovative devices still lack widespread adoption. |
| Citation: |
Fotteler, Marina and Dallmeier, Dhayana and Waibel, Ann-Kathrin and Denkinger, Michael
(2022)
Use of assistive technology supporting safety, communication, and autonomy in community-dwelling older adults.
In: 67. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Medizinische Informatik, Biometrie und Epidemiologie e. V. (GMDS), 13. Jahreskongress der Technologie- und Methodenplattform für die vernetzte medizinische Forschung e. V. (TMF), 21.- 25. August.2022, Online Conference.
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