Ethics and acceptance of smart homes for older adults

Pireh Pirzadaa School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UKCorrespondence[email protected]

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8788-4678 View further author information

Adriana Wildeb Centre for Health Technologies, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK;c Department of Digital Technologies, University of Winchester, Winchester, UK

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1684-1539 View further author information

Gayle Helane Dohertyd School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3494-5857 View further author information

David Harris-Birtilla School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0740-3668 View further author information

ABSTRACT

Societal challenges associated with caring for the physical and mental health of older adults worldwide have grown at an unprecedented pace, increasing demand for health-care services and technologies Despite the development of several assistive systems tailored to older adults, the rate of adoption of health technologies is low. This review discusses the ethical and acceptability challenges resulting in low adoption of health technologies specifically focused on smart homes for older adults. The findings have been structured in two categories: Ethical Considerations (Privacy, Social Support, and Autonomy) and Technology Aspects (User Context, Usability, and Training). The findings conclude that older adults community is more likely to adopt assistive systems when four key criteria are met. The technology should: be personalized toward their needs, protect their dignity and independence, provide user control, and not be isolating. Finally, we recommend researchers and developers working on assistive systems to: (1) provide interfaces via smart devices to control and configure the monitoring system with feedback for the user, (2) include various sensors/devices to architect a smart home solution in a way that is easy to integrate in daily life, and (3) define policies about data ownership.

KEYWORDS: