Older Adults' Perspectives of Smart Technologies to Support Aging at Home: Insights from Five World Cafe Forums

Globally, there is an urgent need for solutions that can support our aging populations to live well and reduce the associated economic, social and health burdens. Implementing smart technologies within homes and communities may assist people to live well and 'age in place'. To date, there has been little consultation with older Australians addressing either the perceived benefits, or the potential social and ethical challenges associated with smart technology use. To address this, we conducted five World Cafes in two Australian states, aiming to capture citizen knowledge about the possibilities and challenges of smart technologies. The participants (n = 84) were aged 55 years and over, English-speaking, and living independently. Grounding our analysis in values-based social science and biomedical ethical principles, we identified the themes reflecting the participants' understanding, resistance, and acceptance of smart technologies, and the ethical principles, including beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, privacy, confidentiality, and justice. Similar to other studies, many of the participants demonstrated cautious and conditional acceptance of smart technologies, while identifying concerns about social isolation, breaches of privacy and confidentiality, surveillance, and stigmatization. Attention to understanding and incorporating the values of older citizens will be important for the acceptance and effectiveness of smart technologies for supporting independent and full lives for older citizens.

Automated summary

There is a global need for solutions to support aging populations and reduce the burdens associated with it. Smart technologies implemented within homes and communities may be beneficial, but there has been little consultation with older Australians regarding their perceived benefits and potential social and ethical challenges. This study conducted five World Cafes to capture citizen knowledge about smart technologies, identifying themes of understanding, resistance, and acceptance, as well as ethical principles such as beneficence, privacy, and justice.