Design and Technologies for Understanding Older Adults Social Interactions in Retirement Communities

Using Technology to Measure Older Adults’ Social Networks for Health and Well-Being: A Scoping Review

“…We categorized the technologies in the included articles into three groups to allow us to compare similar articles and enable discussion of their overall advantages and disadvantages (Table 1). Environment-based technology is hardware designed for and installed in living spaces such as in private homes (Bilbao et al, 2016;Campos et al, 2014;Chen et al, 2007;Cook et al, 2010;Peter et al, 2013;Rebola et al, 2013;Yu et al, 2015). This technology includes passive infrared and radio frequency sensors, internet of things, and video and audio recordings.…”

“…Most of the studies were pilot, simulation, or observational research (n =14) (Bilbao et al, 2016;Burns et al, 2014;Campos et al, 2014;Chen et al, 2007;Cook et al, 2010;Duval et al, 2018;Masumoto et al, 2017;Mo et al, 2018;Muller et al, 2013;Pfeil & Zaphiris, 2009;Quintana et al, 2019;Rebola et al, 2013;Uddin et al, 2016;Vanhems et al, 2013) and most were conducted in European countries (n = 9) (Bilbao et al, 2016;Burns et al, 2014;Duval et al, 2018;Kennedy et al, 2016;Muller et al, 2013;Peter et al, 2013;Pfeil et al, 2011;Pfeil & Zaphiris, 2009;Vanhems et al, 2013). All the studies focused on an older adult population, but only 10 studies selected older adults as their study participants (Campos et al, 2014;Kennedy et al, 2016;Masumoto et al, 2017;Mo et al, 2018;Peter et al, 2013;Pfeil et al, 2011;Pfeil & Zaphiris, 2009;Rebola et al, 2013;Uddin et al, 2016;Yu et al, 2015). Four out of 18 studies had sample sizes less than ten people (Bilbao et al, 2016;Burns et al, 2014;Cook et al, 2010;Yu et al, 2015)), and only five had sample sizes larger than 100 (Campos et al, 2...…”

“…Four out of 18 studies had sample sizes less than ten people (Bilbao et al, 2016;Burns et al, 2014;Cook et al, 2010;Yu et al, 2015)), and only five had sample sizes larger than 100 (Campos et al, 2014;Duval et al, 2018;Mo et al, 2018;Quintana et al, 2019;Uddin et al, 2016). Of the various settings where the studies were conducted, the most common settings were the community (n = 8) (Bilbao et al, 2016;Burns et al, 2014;Campos et al, 2014;Kennedy et al, 2016;Masumoto et al, 2017;Peter et al, 2013;Quintana et al, 2019;Rebola et al, 2013) and formal health care facilities (i.e., residential long-term care and hospital settings; n = 5) (Chen et al, 2007;Duval et al, 2018;Muller et al, 2013;Uddin et al, 2016;Vanhems et al, 2013).…”

“…A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t independence, and decreasing social isolation of older adults in the community (Bilbao et al, 2016;Burns et al, 2014;Campos et al, 2014;Cook et al, 2010;Masumoto et al, 2017;Peter et al, 2013); (2) to improve older adults' or care providers' care management (Kennedy et al, 2016;Muller et al, 2013;Uddin et al, 2016;Yu et al, 2015); (3) to understand older adults' social interactions online or in retirement communities (Mo et al, 2018;Pfeil et al, 2011;Pfeil & Zaphiris, 2009;Rebola et al, 2013); and (4) to trace interpersonal interactions for nosocomial infection control (Duval et al, 2018;Vanhems et al, 2013). Six studies reported their theoretical foundations: Four studies were guided by social network theories such as centrality theory and social roles theory (Mo et al, 2018;Pfeil et al, 2011;Pfeil & Zaphiris, 2009;Uddin et al, 2016), one study was guided by a mixture of sociological and health theories (i.e., the influence theory, normalization process theory, and collaborative deliberation theory) (Kennedy et al, 2016), and one study was based on theories of infectious disease transmission (Vanhems et al, 2013).…”

“…Six studies reported their theoretical foundations: Four studies were guided by social network theories such as centrality theory and social roles theory (Mo et al, 2018;Pfeil et al, 2011;Pfeil & Zaphiris, 2009;Uddin et al, 2016), one study was guided by a mixture of sociological and health theories (i.e., the influence theory, normalization process theory, and collaborative deliberation theory) (Kennedy et al, 2016), and one study was based on theories of infectious disease transmission (Vanhems et al, 2013). Although they specified no theories, most studies (n = 10) supported their research with empirical evidence regarding social support or interactions and their importance to the health and wellbeing of older adults (Bilbao et al, 2016;Burns et al, 2014;Campos et al, 2014;Chen et al, 2007;Cook et al, 2010;Masumoto et al, 2017;Peter et al, 2013;Quintana et al, 2019;Rebola et al, 2013;Yu et al, 2015). All but one of the studies were classified as discovery science; one was classified as implementation science (Kennedy et al, 2016).…”