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Understanding reception of care technology for healthy ageing at home

The population is ageing rapidly, and more so than ever, there is an increasing preference for people to stay in their homes instead of moving into care. To do that successfully, the recent Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety recommended the provision of goods, aids, equipment and services that promote a level of independence “to reduce risks of living safely at home.”

Technologists believe that technology can improve quality of life, increase the efficiency of service delivery and reduce demand for acute health care services. Such technology includes devices for monitoring activity and biometrics.

While there is a strong case for the use of technology in aged care, it is essential to ensure that the application of technology meets the needs of end-users. Therefore, it makes sense to ask: What do ageing people, their families and professional carers think about using technology to support the delivery of aged care?

Researchers are seeking to uncover the answer to this question in a SPHERE-funded project which brings together three SPHERE Strategic Platforms (Healthy Populations and Environment, Implementation Science and Knowledge Translation), the Age and Ageing Clinical Academic Group and SPHERE partner, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD).

This collaborative effort is further enhanced with external collaborators and supporters, including the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures, NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN), University of Newcastle FASTlab, the Central Coast Research Institute (CCRI), and UNSW Tyree Foundation Institute of Health Engineering.

“Realising the benefits of technology requires that the proposed technology is acceptable to ageing people, their families, and professional carers. However, without adequately understanding factors for acceptance, technology may be rejected or circumvented, leading to a loss of efficiency for service providers, wasted government funding, and with no benefits to recipients,” explains Chief Investigator, Professor Jason Prior.

The project will codesign and run two surveys, followed by analysis and workshops for translation and implementation.

In addition to researching the acceptability of technology-enabled aged care, the research will also look into the influencing variables which include technology aspects, role in the ecosystem, care tenure, dwelling type, regulation and zoning, locational settings, cultural background, and socioeconomics.

“We need knowledge and effective action on the relationship between ageing, housing, health, and technology. This project is a significant entry point for intersectoral work between the planning system (which supplies housing for the ageing population) and the health system (which supports the health and wellbeing of the ageing population) and technologists (which enables new models of care). This project also aims to directly inform policy as the ecosystem enters this period of rapid change,” explains Prof. Prior.

“The project aims to deeply understand which technology is, and is not, acceptable for monitoring and processing activity and biometric data, in supporting the delivery of aged care.”

The proposed project will fill this knowledge gap and take the next step towards a real-world trial in SESLHD. The project outcomes will directly flow to existing initiatives in academia, industry, and NSW and federal governments.