JMIR Publications

Background:

The number of older people with unmet health care and support needs is increasing substantially due to the challenges facing healthcare systems worldwide. There are potentially great benefits to using Internet of Things (IoT) coupled with Artificial Intelligence to support independent living and the measurement of health risks, thus improving quality of life for the older adult population. Taking a co-design approach has the potential to ensure that these technological solutions are developed to address specific user needs and requirements.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to investigate stakeholder’s perceptions of independent living and technology solutions, identify stakeholder’s suggestions on how technology could assist older adults to live independently and explore the acceptability and usefulness of a prototype IoT solution “The NEX system” to support independent living for an older adult population.

Methods:

The development of the NEX system was carried out in three key phases with a strong focus on diverse stakeholder involvement. The initial pre-design exploratory phase recruited 17 stakeholders, including older adults and family caregivers, using fictitious personas and scenarios to explore initial perceptions of independent living and technology solutions. The subsequent co-design and testing phase expanded this to include a comprehensive online survey completed by 380 stakeholders, encompassing older adults, family caregivers, healthcare professionals, and home care support staff. This phase also included prototype testing at home by 7 older adults to assess technology needs, requirements, and the initial acceptability of the system. Finally, in the post-design phase, workshops were held between academic and industry partners to analyse data collected from the earlier stages and to discuss recommendations for future development of the system.

Results:

The pre-design phase revealed three broad themes: loneliness and technology, ageing and technology and adopting and using technology. The co-design phase highlighted key areas where technology could assist older adults to live independently: home security, falls and loneliness, remote monitoring by family members and communication with clients. The prototype testing revealed that the acceptability aspects of the prototype varied across technology types. Ambient sensors and voice activated assistants were described as the most acceptable technology by participants. Lastly, the post-design analysis process highlighted that ambient sensors have potential for automatic detection of activities of daily living, resulting in key recommendations for future developments and deployments in this area.

Conclusions:

This study demonstrates the significance of incorporating diverse stakeholder perspectives in developing solutions that support independent living. Additionally, it emphasises the advantages of prototype testing in home environments, offering crucial insights into the real-world experiences of users interacting with technological solutions.

International Registered Report:

RR2-10.2196/35277