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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Yearb Med Inform 2021; 30(01): 141-149
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1726492
Section 4: Sensor, Signal and Imaging Informatics
Working Group Contribution

Ambient Assisted Living: Identifying New Challenges and Needs for Digital Technologies and Service Innovation

Vivian Vimarlund
1   Professor School of Engineering, Department of Computer and Information Science, Linköping University, Sweden, Co-Chair WG Ambient Assisted Living
,
Elizabeth M. Borycki
2   Professor, School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, Canada, Chair WG Ambient Assisted Living
,
Andre W. Kushniruk
3   Professor and Director, School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, Canada
,
Kerstin Avenberg
4   On behalf of the Swedish interest organizations for Elderly, Stockholm, Sweden. Member of SeniorNet and Active Seniors non-profit organizations
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Summary

Background: The ambient assisted living (AAL) market is rapidly becoming fundamental to the delivery of health and social care services for the elderly. Worldwide many different steps have been taken to increase the engagement of older adults with these technologies. Much of this work has focused on the development of novel digital services that increase wellbeing or tackle social challenges.

Aim: The aim of the study was to identify and describe the demands for AAL-services from the perspective of older adults. We also examine the challenges and needs of the ambient assisted living market using a needs based approach.

Method: An exploratory case study was conducted with an aim to capture information about older adults’ demands for AAL services. A survey was used to collect the data. The survey study respondents validated the results.

Results: The results of the study indicate that the area of AAL needs be studied from a multiple-sided market perspective. Our research suggests there is a need to describe and understand the factors that facilitate or constrain the implementation of services with focus on health and social care. There is also a need to describe and analyze the relationship between policy and practice and its effects on the AAL market. It is necessary to capture expressed demand, to identify market challenges at the macro level and to be able to understand how services should operate and serve older adults in practice. Such research is critical to the development of guidance for policy makers, suppliers and service providers.

Discussion: Older adults are asking for intelligent, assistive living solutions that help them to continue to live independent lives and remain socially included in their networks, associations, and communities. The elderly need services that stimulate and maintain their physical and intellectual capital. The development of innovative AAL environments is, however, a complex social process that involves the use and delivery of innovative ICT–based services. The implementation and use of AAL to support older adults involve service providers and elderly consumers.

Conclusions: The results of the study may be of interest to policy makers, entrepreneurs, technology suppliers, service providers and health and social care organizations, who are willing to innovate and influence the development of the AAL market through their choices and decisions.

Keywords

Ambient assisted living - assistive technology - older adults - elderly - two-sided market - demand for services - challenges - user needs - business models


Publication History

Article published online:
21 April 2021

© 2021. IMIA and Thieme. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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