The elderly and new technology? Does not seem like the perfect combination if you ask me. However, a Motivaction research shows that elderly have a much more positive attitude towards new technologies than we think. Technology has the potential to mean even more to them than just the “fun” part; it can be used to increase the quality of life in their own house. Technology designs and supports innovative ways that allows the elderly to independently shape their lives.
There are several ways automation influences the life of the elderly at home. In the first place, it could help them perform, or take over, daily tasks. For example, automated light controls or automated doors and locks make life at home easier for the ones who struggle with their mobility. In the second place, new technologies could also replace some human home care tasks by computers. For example, medicine dispensing services can be automated to ensure the right medication at the right time. The home automations can differ from simple to more complicated devices, but they all assist in helping the elderly have a more secure and independent life.
Despite the fact that home automation creates a lot of benefits for the elderly, there is also a frequently mentioned disadvantage; loneliness. Automation ensures that many human tasks in the healthcare sector, for example performed by nurses or doctors, are replaced by computers. As a result, part of the (daily) human contact disappears at the same time. However, new technologies could attenuate the increasing experienced amount of loneliness through robots or appointments via an online connection. The downside of these technological developments is the decreasing number of employment opportunities for humans. Thus, it also creates a big challenge for the healthcare sector.
Do you think home automation is a solution or a danger to the (elderly) healthcare sector? Let me know in the comments!
Want to learn more about new technological inventions in elderly care? Check out the following TEDx Talk:
Resources:
Gijsbers, L. and van Duist, L. (2015). Ouderen en nieuwe technologie. Motivaction.
Nu.nl. (2019). Technologie in huis laat ouderen langer zelfstandig wonen. [online] Available at: https://www.nu.nl/wonen-en-interieur/4087413/technologie-in-huis-laat-ouderen-langer-zelfstandig-wonen.html [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].
Washington, H. (n.d.). Home Automation for the Elderly and Disabled is Changing Lives. [online] Smart Offices Smart Homes. Available at: https://smartofficesandsmarthomes.com/home-automation-for-the-elderly-and-disabled/ [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].
Hi Jet,
Great post about a subject that I have not seen on this blog yet, but will be of significant importance in the Netherlands in the near future!
I think that the overall well-being of the elderly will increase due to the fact that, thanks to the technological solutions and supportive tools, they can stay in their comfort environments longer. From my personal experience, I can tell that once elderly are moved to nursing homes, their health and especially well-being decline in a fast rate. I think this is because they are ‘taken’ from their personal safe environments with familair people around them to a home full of ‘strangers’, as my grandmother called them. So, although they are not exactly alone in these homes, they can still feel lonely.
Moreover, in the Netherlands, there is a big ‘overload’ of elderly citizens in nursing homes, which put a lot of pressure on nurses and caretakers. The government is even relying on citizens to provide informal caring to their own elderly parents and family. With new technological tools, the pressure on these health professionals will be decreased and, therefore, the quality of the service delivered may increase, which impacts the health care sector in a positive way.
So, in conclusion, I personally think that these developments are beneficial for both elderly who are in need of help and health professionals!
Kind regards,
Rowan
Hello,
Thank you for this article. This subject is very interesting, and I am thinking a lot about this subject. Indeed, I find it very sad to see elderly, nowadays, having for main companions a TV. Therefore, I am often wondering if technologies replace or not the interaction people had with their neighbour and family before. We had a big debate in France when automatic cashier were introduced because it was destroying some social relation you could have with the cashier. Some people were arguing to for some elderlies it was one of the few interactions they have. But even if it is an interaction, is it a nice one ? It is not better to find interaction with people that care about you ? I am wondering if the people that have less interaction and use now technologies do so because the relations they have before were the only option and there were no alternatives to have some pleasures. Then, I believe that technologies can be a source of isolation for people than used to have interaction by necessity before and now are not used to have relationship for relationship as we mean today. It is true that technologies can improve our daily life and can help to stay at home for instance. To finish, I am wondering how it would be with our generation that grow up with technologies, we already have less and less relationship by necessity (no need to go to school, to go to the supermarket, …) but because we want to have them, so do our generation will be different when we will become old ?
Great post! In my opinion, home automation has definitely great potential for elderly care and sustaining independency during their old age. For me, I think home automation is going to be tool used in addition to aid nursing houses and caretakers of elderly, not hurting the employment for the healthcare sector. Where trivial human tasks of everyday life are not gonna be needed to aid with for elderly as much and the nurses/caretakers can take care of the most important problems and immediate emergencies instead. Do you think healthcare professionals like nurses are going to have a different role in taking care of elderly? Do you think there is going to an opportunity for new types of employment to arise in the sector due to loneliness? As such as in the movie “Intouchables”, where the caretaker becomes more of a human companion for the disabled man. Lemme know what do you think! Also very interesting video!