SEED Grant Research Projects

Smart technology can play a key role in creating smart and inclusive aging-in-place environments. For these environments to be successful, an understanding of the complex relationships among the built environment and design, medical support and caregiving, community support, and policies is needed. A holistic approach based on technology and focused on the user’s experience is needed while keeping the older adult at the centre of the solutions as the end user. To date, there is no literature that provides a comprehensive, multidisciplinary response to this challenge by providing answers or principles that guide ageing in place decisions that leverage technology, the user, and the complexity of influential relationships that affect successful ageing in place.

Methods

This project involved a literature review, the identification and preliminary examination of potential smart devices, and a virtual symposium. The symposium was held over two nights with six different invited experts and a professional audience. These experts came from diverse backgrounds ranging from interior design, computer science, architecture, occupational therapy, and industrial design. Topics of choice on the creation of smart and inclusive aging in place environments were presented, followed by a panel discussion. These topics included mental models, building code, social determinants of health, Living In Place technology suggestions for kitchens and bathrooms, affordances, and exploration of new technology for caregivers of people with dementia.

Results

Based on the literature review, smart technology review, and symposium, four main themes appeared from the different speakers, heard across professions and perspectives. These included:

1. A call to action to improve designs, design methods, and interactions with end users in line with ethical responsibilities as designers which includes recognizing and including older adults in the design process as the end users and experts.
2. A reminder to include all stakeholders in the conversations, such as caregivers, and recognize the diversity of aging in place with multigenerational households and people remaining at home who, in the past, would be living in facilities.
3. Recognition of the many external factors in people’s environments and the inherent human element in technology design can ensure success or failure at aging in place.
4. The importance of past experiences, affordances, mental models, and familiarity with technology design in order to create simple, intuitive, and easy-to-use devices.

Conclusions

The use of smart technology for aging in place is complex and evolving as new paradigms develop to better meet the needs of older adults. A change to seeing a bigger and more holistic picture by placing the older adult at the center of designs as the expert in their lives and including all key stakeholders and influential factors will improve the design of products and built environments as technology advances to support people as they age.

• Kihong Ku
  Professor in the Department of Architecture,
  Director of the PhD in Architecture and Design Research Program
  [email protected]
• Susan Parks
  Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine,
  Director of the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Palliative Care,
  Medical Director of The Center for Healthy Aging, and the co-medical director of the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care (ADC) program
  [email protected]
• Brooke Salzman, MD
  Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine,
  Associate Director of Geriatric Programs of the Center for Healthy Aging,
  co-medical director of the ADC program,
  Associate Provost of Interprofessional Practice and Education at Thomas Jefferson University,
  Co-Director of the Jefferson Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education
  [email protected]
• Martha Anez
  Associate Professor 
  Associate Director of Interior Design and Interior Architecture Programs, registered architect (PA and NY)
  [email protected]