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Smart Home Technologies to Support Independent Living in Older Adults: A Scoping Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Smart home technologies show growing potential to enhance autonomy, safety, and daily functioning in older adults. Yet the current evidence base remains fragmented, marked by diverse technological setups, short-term and controlled evaluations, and limited involvement of older adults throughout the design and testing process. Inconsistent reporting of usability, accessibility, and ethical safeguards further restricts comparability across studies and hinders the translation of smart home innovations into sustainable, real-world digital health environments.
Objective:
This scoping review aims to synthesize empirical research on smart home technologies designed for older adults, identifying common technological patterns, evaluation approaches, and recurring barriers to adoption. By consolidating findings across diverse studies, the review seeks to clarify the current state of smart home innovation and highlight priorities for future research, design, and real-world implementation.
Methods:
Following PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews, four databases (Scopus, ScienceDirect, IEEE Xplore, and Web of Science) were systematically searched for studies published between 2015 and 2024. Eligible studies included empirical evaluations of smart home technologies involving older adults (≥65 years). Extracted variables encompassed hardware and software configurations, technological maturity, evaluation procedures, user involvement, and reported challenges. Data were analyzed using thematic synthesis and frequency analysis to identify recurring patterns and characterize the current landscape of smart-home innovations for aging-in-place populations.
Results:
A total of 22 studies met the inclusion and quality criteria. Most technologies were in early research or development stages and relied predominantly on sensor-based monitoring, robotic assistance, and AI-driven analytics. Evaluations were generally short-term and conducted in controlled or semi-controlled environments, providing limited evidence on scalability, long-term adherence, involvement of caregivers, or ethical safeguards. User participation was largely restricted to late-stage usability testing rather than continuous involvement throughout development. Across the sample, recurring patterns emerged in technological configuration, interaction and accessibility features, evaluation metrics, user engagement, and reported ethical or operational barriers, highlighting consistent gaps and opportunities to advance smart home innovation for aging-in-place populations.
Conclusions:
Findings from this review reveal substantial technological progress in smart home innovations for older adults, but also persistent gaps in evaluation rigor, user involvement, accessibility, and ethical transparency. Strengthening methodological consistency and prioritizing long-term, user-centered research will be essential to translate emerging smart home technologies into inclusive, effective, and sustainable digital health solutions that genuinely support independent living in aging populations.
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.