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Speaker, tell me a joke: The feasibility of using smart speaker technology for health and well-being in an older adult population
ABSTRACT
Background:
Although smart speaker technology is poised to help improve the health and well-being of older adults through offering services such as music, medication reminders, and connection to others, more research is needed to determine how older adults from lower socioeconomic position (SEP) accept and use this technology.
Objective:
The purpose of this study is to serve as a feasibility study for using smart speakers for improving the health and well-being of older low SEP adults.
Methods:
Forty nine adults between the age of 65 to 85 who lived in a subsidized housing community were recruited to take part in a three-month study. Participants had a smart speaker into their home and were given a brief orientation to its use. Over the course of the study, participants were given weekly check-in calls to help assist with any problems and newsletters with tips on how to use the speaker. Participants received a pretest and posttest to gauge comfort with technology, well-being, and perceptions of and use of the speaker. Study staff also maintained detailed process notes of interactions with participants over the course of the study, including a log of all issues reported.
Results:
At the end of the study period, 38% of the participants indicated using the speaker daily, and 38% reported using it several times per week. Seventy-two percent of the participants indicated that they wanted to continue using the speaker after the end of the study. The majority (63%) indicated that the speaker was useful, and approximately half of participants felt that the speaker gave them another voice to talk to (51%) and connected them with the outside world (47%). Although common uses were using the speaker for weather, music, and news, fewer reported using it for health-related questions. Despite initial challenges participants experienced with framing questions to the speaker, additional explanation by study staff addressed these issues in the first weeks of the study.
Conclusions:
Results from this study indicate that there is promise for smart speaker technology with older low SEP adults, particularly to connect them to music, news, and reminders. Future studies will need to provide more up-front training on query formation, as well as develop and promote more specific options for older adults, particularly in the area of health and well-being.
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