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Assistive Technologies in Elder Care and Assistance
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Assistive Technologies in Elder Care and Assistance

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Care Sciences & Services".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 19487

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mirko Di Rosa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Unit of Geriatric Pharmacoepidemiology and Biostatistics, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy
Interests: data analysis; long term care; clinical trials; health technology assessment; gerontechnology; public services
Dr. Roberta Bevilacqua

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Scientific Direction, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy
Interests: technology acceptance; usability; human computer interaction; human robot interaction; social robotics; user centered design; clinical trials; robotic rehabilitation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The dramatic change in the population distribution brings several long-term societal implications, such as loss of independence, multimorbidity, and need of daily care and assistance.

Research on technological innovation has made significant efforts in designing and implementing solutions to improve older people’s independence and provide relief for caregivers.

Nevertheless, the adoption of gerontechnological products is still low, due to a lack of strategies to improve acceptability and usability, the absence of clear personalized features, and the difficulty of demonstrating the efficacy of complex systems (e.g., social robots and virtual agents in general) through evidence-based methods. A closer interaction between healthcare and technology researchers is mandatory in order to ensure that these new systems address the unsolved needs of the older population.

This Special Issue aims to provide an opportunity for researchers to submit their contributions to the design and evaluation of new technologies for monitoring and supporting human well-being in several respects: physical, cognitive, emotional, affective, and social. Within this domain, we welcome original research manuscripts including new significant technical contributions to social robotics, virtual agents and virtual reality, AI and machine and deep learning, human–computer and human–robot interaction for assisted living, and applications to support assisted-living scenarios. Given the lack of publicly available data specific to this topic, contributions also reporting realistic benchmarks related to the elderly are very welcome.

Dr. Mirko Di Rosa
Dr. Roberta Bevilacqua
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • long-term care
  • family caregivers
  • elder care
  • social robotics
  • assistive technology
  • virtual agents
  • virtual reality
  • machine learning
  • artificial intelligence

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 4381 KiB  
Article
Using IoT Assistive Technologies for Older People Non-Invasive Monitoring and Living Support in Their Homes
by Sorin-Aurel Moraru, Adrian Alexandru Moșoi, Dominic Mircea Kristaly, Ionuț Moraru, Vlad Ștefan Petre, Delia Elisabeta Ungureanu, Liviu Marian Perniu, Dan Rosenberg and Maria Elena Cocuz
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(10), 5890; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19105890 - 12 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2485
Abstract
Many western societies are confronted with issues in planning and adapting their health policies due to an ageing population living alone. The “NOt Alone at Home—NOAH” project aimed to involve older people in the Agile co-creation of services for a collaborative monitoring and [...] Read more.
Many western societies are confronted with issues in planning and adapting their health policies due to an ageing population living alone. The “NOt Alone at Home—NOAH” project aimed to involve older people in the Agile co-creation of services for a collaborative monitoring and awareness notification for remote caregivers. Our research aim was to create a scalable and modern information system that permitted a non-invasive monitorization of the users for keeping their caregivers up to date. This was done via a cloud IoT (Internet of Things), which collects and processes data from its domotic sensors. The notifications generated by the system, via the three applications we developed (NOAH/NOAH Care/Admin Centre), offer caregivers an easy way of detecting changes in the day-to-day behaviour and activities of their patients, giving them time to intervene in case of abnormal activity. Such an approach would lead to a longer and more independent life for the older people. We evaluated our system by conducting a year-long pilot-study, offering caregivers constant information from the end-users while still living independently. For creating our pilot groups, we used the ABAS (Adaptive Behaviour Assessment System) II, which we then matched with the pre-profiled Behavioral Analysis Models of older people familiar with modern communication devices. Our results showed a low association between daily skills and the sensors we used, in contrast with the results from previous studies done in this field. Another result was efficiently capturing the behaviour changes that took place due to the COVID-19 Lockdown measures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assistive Technologies in Elder Care and Assistance)
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11 pages, 329 KiB  
Article
eHealth Literacy: From Theory to Clinical Application for Digital Health Improvement. Results from the ACCESS Training Experience
by Roberta Bevilacqua, Stefano Strano, Mirko Di Rosa, Cinzia Giammarchi, Katerina Katka Cerna, Claudia Mueller and Elvira Maranesi
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(22), 11800; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182211800 - 10 Nov 2021
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4566
Abstract
Skills, knowledge, and awareness of digital and technological tools are essential to improve the state of well-being and health of older adults and also to mitigate the condition of social isolation in the aging process. For this reason, it is necessary to implement [...] Read more.
Skills, knowledge, and awareness of digital and technological tools are essential to improve the state of well-being and health of older adults and also to mitigate the condition of social isolation in the aging process. For this reason, it is necessary to implement a social learning of electronic/digital tools for health of older people to support the achievement of eHealth and digital competences. The paper reports the results of an Italian innovative eHealth training for the European project ACCESS. The training has been based on blended didactical and interactive educational techniques, aimed at collecting as many points of view as possible from older adults. A total of 58 older adults were recruited to attend a four-week training program, which included five modules. The results showed a statistical significant difference between the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) mean value before and after the course. A significant negative correlation was found between eHEALS and positive/total Survey of Technology Use (SOTU), suggesting an inverse relationship between positive/total SOTU and eHEALS. There is a strong positive and statistically significant relationship between satisfaction with the training and eHEALS. The results indicate that the intervention increased the digital competences of participants connected to health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assistive Technologies in Elder Care and Assistance)
9 pages, 307 KiB  
Article
Designing Acceptable Robots for Assisting Older Adults: A Pilot Study on the Willingness to Interact
by Roberta Bevilacqua, Elisa Felici, Filippo Cavallo, Giulio Amabili and Elvira Maranesi
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(20), 10686; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010686 - 12 Oct 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2543
Abstract
The aim of this paper was to explore the psychosocial determinants that lead to acceptability and willingness to interact with a service robot, starting with an analysis of older users’ behaviors toward the Robot-Era platform, in order to provide strategies for the promotion [...] Read more.
The aim of this paper was to explore the psychosocial determinants that lead to acceptability and willingness to interact with a service robot, starting with an analysis of older users’ behaviors toward the Robot-Era platform, in order to provide strategies for the promotion of social assistive robotics. A mixed-method approach was used to collect information on acceptability, usability, and human–robot interaction, by analyzing nonverbal behaviors, emotional expressions, and verbal communication. The study involved 35 older adults. Twenty-two were women and thirteen were men, aged 73.8 (±6) years old. Video interaction analysis was conducted to capture the users’ gestures, statements, and expressions. A coded scheme was designed on the basis of the literature in the field. Percentages of time and frequency of the selected events are reported. The statements of the users were collected and analyzed. The results of the behavioral analysis reveal a largely positive attitude, inferred from nonverbal clues and nonverbal emotional expressions. The results highlight the need to provide robotic solutions that respect the tasks they offer to the users It is necessary to give older consumers dedicated training in technological literacy to guarantee proper, long-lasting, and successful use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assistive Technologies in Elder Care and Assistance)
17 pages, 1680 KiB  
Article
A Qualitative Study toward Technologies for Active and Healthy Aging: A Thematic Analysis of Perspectives among Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary End Users
by Margherita Rampioni, Adrian Alexandru Moșoi, Lorena Rossi, Sorin-Aurel Moraru, Dan Rosenberg and Vera Stara
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(14), 7489; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147489 - 14 Jul 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4975
Abstract
It is expected that, by 2050, people aged over 60 in 65 nations will constitute 30% of the total population. Healthy aging is at the top of the world political agenda as a possible means for hindering the collapse of care systems. How [...] Read more.
It is expected that, by 2050, people aged over 60 in 65 nations will constitute 30% of the total population. Healthy aging is at the top of the world political agenda as a possible means for hindering the collapse of care systems. How can ICT/sensing technology meet older people’s needs for active and healthy aging? This qualitative study carried out in Italy and Romania in 2020 involved 30 participants: older adults, caregivers, and stakeholders. Based on a user-centered design approach, this study aimed to understand which requirements of ICT/sensing technologies could match people’s needs of active and healthy aging. Findings highlighted that ICT/sensing technology needs to focus on six major themes: (1) learnability, (2) security, (3) independence, empowerment, and coaching values, (4) social isolation, (5) impact of habit, culture, and education variables, and (6) personalized solutions. These themes are consistent with the Active Aging framework and the factors that influence perceived usefulness and potential benefits among older adults. Consequently, this study shows how well-known, but still unresolved, issues affect the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to promote active and healthy aging. This suggests that the reinforcement of the public health system, especially considering the pandemic effect, requires a concrete and formidable effort from an interdisciplinary research network. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assistive Technologies in Elder Care and Assistance)
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13 pages, 1747 KiB  
Article
Effect of the Information Support Robot on the Daily Activity of Older People Living Alone in Actual Living Environment
by Jumpei Mizuno, Daisuke Saito, Ken Sadohara, Misato Nihei, Shinichi Ohnaka, Jun Suzurikawa and Takenobu Inoue
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(5), 2498; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052498 - 3 Mar 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3651
Abstract
Information support robots (ISRs) have the potential to assist older people living alone to have an independent life. However, the effects of ISRs on the daily activity, especially the sleep patterns, of older people have not been clarified; moreover, it is unclear whether [...] Read more.
Information support robots (ISRs) have the potential to assist older people living alone to have an independent life. However, the effects of ISRs on the daily activity, especially the sleep patterns, of older people have not been clarified; moreover, it is unclear whether the effects of ISRs depend on the levels of cognitive function. To investigate these effects, we introduced an ISR into the actual living environment and then quantified induced changes according to the levels of cognitive function. Older people who maintained their cognitive function demonstrated the following behavioral changes after using the ISR: faster wake-up times, reduced sleep duration, and increased amount of activity in the daytime (p < 0.05, r = 0.77; p < 0.05, r = 0.89, and p < 0.1, r = 0.70, respectively). The results suggest that the ISR is beneficial in supporting the independence of older people living alone since living alone is associated with disturbed sleep patterns and low physical activity. The impact of the ISR on daily activity was more remarkable in the subjects with high cognitive function than in those with low cognitive function. These findings suggest that cognitive function is useful information in the ISR adaptation process. The present study has more solid external validity than that of a controlled environment study since it was done in a personal residential space. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assistive Technologies in Elder Care and Assistance)
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