Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Oct 9, 2019
Date Accepted: Mar 23, 2020
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Inconsistencies in Demands of Internet-of-things among older people and people with disabilities, their caregivers and healthcare providers
ABSTRACT
Background:
Home Internet of Things (IoT) have the potential to aid older adults and people with disabilities in their living environment. IoT can also aid their caregivers and healthcare providers to conveniently give care to those in need.
Objective:
The objective of this study is to investigate the demand for IoT in older people and people with disabilities, their caregivers and healthcare providers in the real-world setting, and to see if there are any differences in the aspects of need among the different groups.
Methods:
A total of 300 vulnerable people (200 physically vulnerable older adults and 100 adults aged 30-4 years with physical disability) were randomly sampled from a database managed by population-based cohort, community health center or clinic. Simultaneously, their caregivers (n=150) and healthcare providers (n=50) participated in the survey. Detailed socioeconomic status, experiences and perceptions of the internet and smart devices, detailed health status and impaired ability to daily living, and home IoT service needs were interviewed face-to-face. Among all commercially available IoT services, the 27 services classified into five categories; emergency and security, safety, healthcare, convenience (information) and convenience (operation).
Results:
The majority of older adults did not know what IoT was and only 1% was currently using IoT services. On the other hand, the majority of disabled had heard of IoT, and 20% were currently using IoT services. However, most people in both groups replied they were willing to use the IoT devices if they were taught how to use it. Also, home IoT service requirements differed according to the different types of disabilities in the vulnerable groups. Participants with less disabilities were more willing to use IoTs than those with more disabilities. There were inconsistencies in the demand of IoT among the vulnerable groups, their caregivers and healthcare providers. Home IoT service categories that were required most was emergency and security among the vulnerable groups and their caregivers. However, healthcare providers replied that safety category was most needed in the disabled/older adults’ group.
Conclusions:
Our study confirmed that IoT services that the healthcare providers expected the older adults and people with disabilities to need were different from the actual demand for IoTs among the vulnerable group and their caregivers. These inconsistencies need to be addressed when applying and commercializing IoT services to the older adults and disabled in the future.
Citation
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