GERONTECHNOLOGY ACROSS THE CONTINUUM: FROM INDEPENDENT TO ASSISTED LIVING

Abstract

The dramatic growth in the world’s older population will have a significant effect on healthcare, social services, communities, and families; it will require innovative interdisciplinary solutions. The emergence of gerontechnology may address many aging-related challenges in the continuum of care for older adults. Telehealth, combined with patient education, engages independent community-dwelling chronically ill older adults in their own care. Health-assistive smart homes assist independent and assisted-living older adults with safety and health via ambient motion sensors and machine learning algorithms that may identify and predict health events, as well as provide timely alerts to facilitate earlier interventions. Mindful implementation and evaluation of the efficacy of gerontechnologies will be needed as more technological solutions become available and are employed. A focus on personhood and an emphasis on patient-centered care will help ensure safe and ethical use of technology, which is designed by digital natives for use by a non-digital native older adult population. In this symposium, we will present research findings from four distinct studies that describe: (a) the implementation and evaluation of smart home sensors or telehealth technology for remote patient monitoring in community and institutional settings and (b) the challenges to adoption of such technologies among older adults. We will also discuss the need for health care and human service professionals to be cognizant of technological resources in order to increase adoption and implementation. Gerontechnology may improve quality of life among older adults, increase their ability to age-in-place, and decrease health care costs while maintaining function and dignity.