Struggling Against Social Isolation of the Elderly—The Design of SmartTV Applications

Abstract

This chapter charts a work in progress in the frame of the European project AAL FoSIBLE. Our hypothesis is that virtual networks and online generational communities could offset the lack of relationship, prevent isolation and increase self-esteem for older people living alone at home. Following this purpose, we are then aiming at defining services by rethinking the use of well-known existing technologies and to broaden their scope to be more affordable by older people. This chapter describes related work on the use of the Internet for social interactions among the elderly. The living Lab approach we follow and our results on understanding the actual use and needs of the elderly are presented, followed by the SmartTV platform which is iteratively developed. The analysis of the use of this platform being designed in a user-centred approach will permit us to answer our research issues.

The Technology Acceptance of a TV Platform for the Elderly Living Alone or in Public Nursing Homes

“…This field is only emerging, as reported in [ 14 ], which queried Scopus and Web of Science for papers using keywords “Elderly & TV”, “Interactive & TV & Elderly”, “SmartHome”, “AAL & elderly & TV” and filtering only those related to older people and television, more than 75% of publications were released at or after 2010. Our results were in concordance with previous literature, such as the AAL FoSSIBLE project supporting social interactions through the development of smart TV applications to prevent isolation for older people living alone [ 36 ]. To meet the demand for these type of applications, the next generation of televisions must be prepared to offer interactive services and content to specific groups of users, according their characteristics and preferences [ 37 ].…”

iTVCare: A home care system for the elderly through interactive television

“…Specify requirements: Santana-Mancilla, PC. 1,2 , Anido-Rifón, LE. 1 1 School of Telecommunications Engineering University of Vigo Vigo, Spain Email: psantana@uvigo.es, lanido@gist.uvigo.es Identify all the requirements and the users' objectives that are needed for success with the product.…”

“…This is a project to support social interactions through the development of smart TV applications to prevent isolation for older people living alone [2].…”

"Counting on the Group"

“…Social support networks among older adults are significantly understudied [51,72]. However, studies on this subject have shown promising results [2,49,52,71,74].…”