The use of assistive technologies after stroke is debunking the myths about the elderly

Abstract

Background

Through the concept of ageism, we highlight and explain how the society prejudices the elderly. WHO classifies 12 most common stereotypes pertaining to old age. Elderly people are being excluded from social life due to their chronological age rather than any actual reduced physical and/or mental ability. Some of these stereotypes are directly related to the (un)willingness and the ability of the elderly to use technology in everyday life.

Objectives

The study presented in this article aims to explain the phenomenon of technology use among elderly people who had had a stroke.

Method

A qualitative study, namely a qualitative content analysis, was performed. Six in-depth interviews with older people who have suffered a stroke were conducted and explored their views on the daily use of technology.

Results

All older people included in this study used different technologies, which have been divided into technologies that support mobility, technologies for personal care, technologies that support household chores, and technologies for maintaining a social network. An elderly person’s attitude toward the use of technology is connected to their social network and assistance from professional staff, as well as the severity of their physical disability. We have found that using various technologies, elderly people are developing various coping strategies.

Conclusions

After a stroke, a certain degree of physical deterioration can be expected. Nonetheless, our participants managed to compensate for this also with the help of assistive devices and technologies, which negates the myth of simply “surrendering” to the aging process.

Keywords:

• Ageism
• quality of life
• assistive devices
• neurological rehabilitation

Notes

¹ In this article, we present only one segment of our study, therefore, the final paradigmatic model has not been included in the presentation of the findings.