Purpose Building services technologies such as home automation systems and remote monitoring are increasingly used to support people in their own homes. In order for these technologies to be fully appreciated by the endusers (mainly older care recipients, informal carers and care professionals), user needs should be understood1,2. In other words, supply and demand should match. Steele et al.3 state that there is a shortage of studies exploring perceptions of older users towards technology and the acceptance or rejection thereof. This paper presents an overview of user needs in relation to ambient assisted living (AAL) projects, which aim to support ageing-in-place in The Netherlands. Method A literature survey was made of Dutch AAL projects, focusing on user needs. A total of 7 projects concerned with older persons, with and without dementia, were included in the overview. Results & Discussion By and large technology is considered to be a great support in enabling people to age-in-place. Technology is, therefore, accepted and even embraced by many of the end-users and their relatives. Technology used for safety, security, and emergency response is most valued. Involvement of end-users improves the successful implementation of ambient technology. This is also true for family involvement in the case of persons with dementia. Privacy is mainly a concern for care professionals. This group is also key to successful implementation, as they need to be able to work with the technology and provide information to the end-users. Ambient technologies should be designed in an unobtrusive way, in keeping with indoor design, and be usable by persons with sensory of physical impairments. In general, user needs, particularly the needs of informal carers and care professionals, are an understudied topic. These latter two groups play an important role in implementation and acceptance among care recipients. They should, therefore, deserve more attention from the research community.
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Technology can assist older adults to remain living in the community. Within the realm of information and communication technologies, smart homes are drifting toward the concept of ambient assisted living (AAL). AAL-systems are more responsive to user needs and patterns of living, fostering physical activity for a healthier lifestyle, and capturing behaviours for prevention and future assistance. This study provides an overview of the design-requirements and expectations towards AAL-technologies that are formulated by the end-users, their relatives and health care workers, with a primary focus on health care in The Netherlands. The results concern the motivation for use of technology, requirements to the design, implementation, privacy and ethics. More research is required in terms of the actual needs of older users without dementia and their carers, and on AAL in general as some of the work included concerns less sophisticated smart home technology
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BACKGROUND: Older adults want to preserve their health and autonomy and stay in their own home environment for as long as possible. This is also of interest to policy makers who try to cope with growing staff shortages and increasing health care expenses. Ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies can support the desire for independence and aging in place. However, the implementation of these technologies is much slower than expected. This has been attributed to the lack of focus on user acceptance and user needs.OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to develop a theoretically grounded understanding of the acceptance of AAL technologies among older adults and to compare the relative importance of different acceptance factors.METHODS: A conceptual model of AAL acceptance was developed using the theory of planned behavior as a theoretical starting point. A web-based survey of 1296 older adults was conducted in the Netherlands to validate the theoretical model. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the hypothesized relationships.RESULTS: Our conceptual model showed a good fit with the observed data (root mean square error of approximation 0.04; standardized root mean square residual 0.06; comparative fit index 0.93; Tucker-Lewis index 0.92) and explained 69% of the variance in intention to use. All but 2 of the hypothesized paths were significant at the P<.001 level. Overall, older adults were relatively open to the idea of using AAL technologies in the future (mean 3.34, SD 0.73).CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to a more user-centered and theoretically grounded discourse in AAL research. Understanding the underlying behavioral, normative, and control beliefs that contribute to the decision to use or reject AAL technologies helps developers to make informed design decisions based on users' needs and concerns. These insights on acceptance factors can be valuable for the broader field of eHealth development and implementation.
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