Aging and technology: understanding the issues and creating a base for technology designers

Abstract

The world's population continues to increase, and now we have more aged and aging people than ever before. As people age, many of them develop health problems that impede their independence. Fortunately, the fast pace of contemporary technology provides new ways to overcome health barriers faced by the aged. Considering the countless number of efforts made in aging and technology, the time has come to reorganise and combine the two fields and reveal the most disciplined and innovative technological approaches in a partnership designed to help the elderly. In this paper, age-related health issues are discussed and organised. Then, each health issue is examined in terms of what technological solutions are available to improve the health of the elderly. As a result, a solid base for technology designers is established to encourage them, direct their effort, and enrich their knowledge on solutions for ever-increasing practical applications in the field.

Keywords:

• E-health
• elderly health
• m-health, gerontology
• telecare

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).