JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Over the past decade, the proportion of the world's population aged 65 and above has grown exponentially, raising significant challenges such as social isolation and loneliness among this population. Assistive technologies have shown potential in enhancing the quality of life of older adults by improving their physical, cognitive, communication, and so forth. Research has shown that smart televisions (TVs) are user-friendly and commonly used among older adults. However, smart TVs have been underutilized as assistive technologies.

Objective:

The aim of the study is to explore the state-of-the-art of utilizing smart TVs as assistive technologies for older adults in improving their communications and social lives.

Methods:

The search was conducted following the guidelines for performing systematic literature review, which included six databases, i.e., IEEE, ACM, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Engineering Village and Springer. A range of keywords were used in different combinations, including ‘smart TV’, ‘older adults’, ‘elderly’, ‘communication’, ‘messaging’, ‘video call’ and ‘application’. A set of inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined prior to the search and the screening was performed by three researchers. Based on the aim of the review, inclusion and exclusion criteria, we analyzed the included papers. None of the papers were subjected to quantitative synthesis due to the significant variations in the data measured.

Results:

After screening 2671 records, from the abstract level to full text, 30 papers were identified as relevant studies, demonstrating both direct and indirect impacts on the social lives of older adults through the use of smart TVs as assistive technology. Some papers were parts of the same and/or a larger study, which makes the number of actual projects even smaller. This indicates that smart TVs have been little utilized as assistive technologies for enhancing older adults’ communication and social lives. Most papers proposed their own prototype, and these prototypes were mostly targeted for use at home, while some at geriatric care units or nursing homes. User involvement among older adults was high among the included papers, and some also included other users such as healthcare personnel, administrative staff, and engineers. The included studies were mostly from Europe.

Conclusions:

This review highlights the potential of smart TVs as assistive technologies to enhance social connectivity among older adults but identifies several research gaps. Most studies focus on short-term usability and are geographically limited to Europe. Future research should include longitudinal studies, explore diverse cultural attitudes, and focus on adaptive solutions for various health conditions. We hope this review can inspire research on smart TVs as assistive technologies, enhancing social interactions and quality of life for older adults.