Shaping technologies for older adults with and without dementia: Reflections on ethics and preferences

Abstract

As a result of several years of European funding, progressive introduction of assistive technologies in our society has provided many researchers and companies with opportunities to develop new information and communication technologies aimed at overcoming the digital divide of those at a greater risk of being left behind, as can be the case with healthy older people and those developing cognitive decline and dementia. Moreover, in recent years, when considering how information and communication technologies have been integrated into older people’s lives, and how technology has influenced these individuals, doubts remain regarding whether technologies really fulfil older users’ needs and wishes and whether technologies developed specifically for older users necessarily protect and consider main ethical values. In this article, we address the relevance of privacy, vulnerability and preservation of autonomy as key factors when involving older individuals as target users for information and communication technology research and development. We provide explanatory examples on ethical issues involved in the particular case of developing different types of information and communication technology for older people (from robotics to serious games), what previously performed research tells us about older adults’ preferences and wishes for information and communication technology and what steps should be taken into consideration in the near future.

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“…In line with existing literature, we concur that gerontechnologists will need to develop service robots that offer functional support to older adults in order for them to independently operate in the home environment (Bedaf, Marti, & De Witte, 2019;Diaz-Orueta, Hopper, & Konstantinidis, 2020). Building on the existing literature, we contend that gerontechnologists will also need to ensure successful human-robot interaction to realize the potential of robotics technology in elderly care, which means we need to understand the degree to which older adults will accept service robots.…”

Interdisciplinary Research with Older Adults in the Area of ICT: Selected Ethical Considerations and Challenges

“…There are general ethical considerations related to good research conduct and fair reporting, for example, those outlined in European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity 1 developed by ALLEA -the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, however, each field has its own specificity, and there are clear ethical guidelines on the design of ICT systems [26] with Value Sensitive Design (VSD) coming to mind [2], just as there are multiple ethical considerations related to research and practice involving participants in general, and older adults in particular [3,4,20].…”

“…There are general ethical considerations related to good research conduct and fair reporting, for example, those outlined in European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity 4 developed by ALLEA -the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, however, each field has its own specificity, and there are clear ethical guidelines on the design of ICT systems [26] with Value Sensitive Design (VSD) coming to mind [2], just as there are multiple ethical considerations related to research and practice involving participants in general, and older adults in particular. [20,4,3] 2.1 Older Adults and Technology However, it is at the intersection of these areas that some challenging ethical questions arise. To bring them to light we have created a SWOT-inspired overview of the selected items in our research field related to its strengths, limitations, opportunities and challenges.…”

End Users’ and Other Stakeholders’ Needs and Requirements in the Development of a Personalized Integrated Care Platform (PROCare4Life) for Older People With Dementia or Parkinson Disease: Mixed Methods Study

“…Although older people, their families, and HCPs are positive about using ICTs [ 19 ], the mismatch between the users’ expectations and their actual needs remains one of the main challenges that can reduce the usability of technology solutions targeting older people with mild cognitive decline [ 20 ]. In fact, developing an ill-fitting ICT for this target group can be a burden instead of being a supportive tool [ 21 , 22 ]. Therefore, it is crucial to first identify the needs of the users when implementing ICTs in health care to better develop a suitable solution [ 23 ].…”