Technology

This article explores innovative applications of sharing economy services that have the potential to support a population aging in place, especially the "oldest old," aged 85 and older, and their caregivers. A mixed-methods study conducted by the MIT AgeLab examined perceptions of and experiences with sharing economy services, ultimately finding opportunities and barriers to use.

• Family dementia caregivers described use of several everyday technologies. • In this sample, common technology use patterns were shaped by the caregiving need. • Perceived utility, existing familiarity, and social resources promoted technology use. • Caregiver perspectives must be harnessed in the design and delivery of technology.

Dementia caregiving is associated with depression, stress, and sleep disturbance. A daily use caregiver sleep survey (DUCSS) was developed to evaluate caregiver sleep. The tool was distributed to 24 informal caregivers and validated using the Rasch model, which indicated that the 17-item survey produced sleep quality measures of sufficient reliability for both group-level and individual-level comparisons (reliability = .87).

Background: Managing the complex and long-term care needs of persons living with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) can adversely impact the health of informal caregivers and their care recipients.

Background: Dementia is a major public health concern associated with significant caregiver demands and there are technologies available to assist with caregiving. However, there is a paucity of information on caregiver needs and preferences for these technologies, particularly from a sex and gender perspective.

BACKGROUND: The population of Europe is aging rapidly. Most community-dwelling older adults (CDOAs) want to remain in their homes, particularly those experiencing functional decline. Politicians and academics repeatedly praise technological instruments for being the preferred solution for helping older adults with deteriorating health to remain at home. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to understand the perceptions of CDOAs and their informal caregivers (ICs) and professional caregivers (PCs) about technologies that can help keep older adults at home.

Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the feasibility of using telepresence robots to encourage interactive communication in dementia care, from the perspective of family carers. Methods: Qualitative findings from semi-structured interviews with six family carers. Results: Generally, family carers reported a feeling of presence and connectedness when talking to their family member via the telepresence robots. They reported the robots as helping to enhance longer conversations and social connection with their family member.

Background: As global populations age, governments have come to rely heavily on family carers (FCs) to care for older adults and reduce the demands made of formal health and social care systems. Under increasing pressure, sustainability of FC's unpaid care work has become a pressing issue. Using qualitative data, this paper explores FCs' care-related work goals, and describes how those goals do, or do not, link to technology. Methods: We employed a sequential mixed-method approach using focus groups followed by an online survey about FCs' goals.

The number of older adults living with functional decline and serious illness is growing exponentially at a time when availability of both family and professional caregivers is strained. Achieving optimal outcomes for this vulnerable population involves advancing the knowledge needed to improve the quality of care delivered by families, health professionals, and community programs. Recent reports from National Institute of Health and the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine have called for the identification of gaps in key areas of family caregiving intervention research.

Background: Assistive technology (AT) is rapidly emerging within dementia care and support. One area of AT application is support of people with dementia in compensating for cognitive symptoms and thereby promoting their self-management.