Assistive Technology and Older People

After spending this semester discussing how different types of technology effect elderlies and their aging process, I am going to spend this last blog discussing future concerns and measures about technology. Being in this current technology savvy era, the rates of assistive technology in homes will increase and become more prevalent. One of the main priorities that researchers need to focus on is how to make assistive technology more affordable during a time in which the economy is slow and technology is needed more frequently. According to an article called "Designing technology with older people," the authors discuss how we need to focus on including the needs of older people when designing future technology, because by the year 2020 older people will take up the largest portion of our population (2007). No longer should we follow the research strategies that we implement on younger groups of people such as generalizing and assuming characteristic traits. Instead, researchers need to also implement detailed studies into individual's lives, needs and behaviors in order to find out more information about differing norms in different groups. This way we will be able to avoid neglecting certain groups that may have what is considered rare behavior or different from the society norms. Both in the "Designing technology with older people" and "Older adults' needs for assistance as a function of living environment" articles, discuss the importance of designing technology to be human-centered and ensuring that there is actual physical human participation even with the heavy use of assistive technology in homes today.  Another major concern that is raised in "Quality of life technology for older adults and persons with disabilities: preferences and concerns for development" that researchers have raised also was the level of privacy that should still be maintained in the lives of older adults (2008). With the heavy use of assistive technology comes the need to constantly monitor the changes and personal behaviors of these older adults, some people have raised concerns that this can serve as an invasion of privacy that they do not wish to have occur. However, I believe this is a concern that elderlies will learn to come to terms with, because it is a necessity in doing proper research for the future.

Resources


Dewsbury, G., Rouncefield, M., Sommerville, I., Onditi, V., & Bagnall, P. (2007). Designing technology with older people [Electronic version]. Universal Access in the Information Society, 6(2), 207-217. Retrieved on 21 April 2012 from SpringerLink database.

Matthews, J., Beach, S., Downs, J., Bruine de Bruin, W., Mecca, L., Argueta, J., & Schulz, R. (2008). Quality of life technology for older adults and persons with disabilities: preferences and concerns for development [Electronic version]. The Gerontologist, 48, 188. Retrieved on 21 April 2012 from ProQuest database.

Mitzner, T., Kemp, C., Chen, T., & Rogers, W. (2011). Older adults' needs for assistance as a function of living environment [Electronic version]. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 55(1), 152-156. Retrieved on 21 April 2012 from SAGE Journals database.

Alzheimer's Disease and Technology

According to our lectures and readings, we've discussed how older people are more at risk for mental illnesses due to stressful life events. However, there are also discussions saying that specific illnesses and diseases cannot be attributed to certain ages. But according to Kathryn Gregory's article, doctors do agree that even though they have not been able to find the causes for Alzheimer's disease there is a definite correlation with old age and this disease (2009). When it comes to diseases such as Alzheimer's disease it is very important to reflect on the technology that is being utilized to make breakthroughs in discovering cures and ways of prevention. In the same article, it discusses how priorities are being placed on creating preventative measures first rather than finding the cure immediately. Since studies on Alzheimer's were only started in the 1970s, there has only been about forty years worth of recorded studies. In a science perspective, they haven't even begun to scratch the surface of understanding the disease and finding a cure, which the article even jokes is like utilizing "Star Trek technology" (2009).  It is so far off in the future, that it doesn't even seem possible with the technology that we currently have. I believe that this is a very good way of approaching the problem. It is a form of admittance and understanding that Alzheimer's will evolve to become a very serious problem in the near future, affecting almost half the population, and containing the current affected cases and planning for the future. Even though there is an understanding that there is still a long ways to go for technology to be capable of competing with the force and speed that Alzheimer's is attacking the people with, scientists and researchers have not neglected this. In 2005, it was reported that a patent has been issued for a piece of blood testing technology that hopes to detect Alzheimer's disease in its early stages. It is designed to be distributed annually to patients that are over 65 years of age. However, it has not been fully placed on the market due to economic and scientific factors such as accuracy and cost of the technology. In a recent article that came out this month, OPKO Health, Inc. has announced that they have created a piece of technology that is capable of detecting biomarkers for a myriad of diseases that also include Alzheimer's biomarkers. It avoids the highly invasive style that previous diagnosis tools have taken and increases the level of accuracy. We always say that we're in a very technology reliant age for good and for bad. When it comes to disease detection, prevention, and curing, technology is highly beneficial and unavoidable.

References


(2012, April 3). OPKO Health announces license agreement for OPKO's Alzheimer's diagnostic technology [Electronic version]. Business Wire. Retrieved on 21 April 2012 from Factiva database.

(2005, April 10). Patent issued for Alzheimer's blood test technology [Electronic version]. Preventive Medicine Week, 14. Retrieved on 21 April 2012 from LexisNexis Academic database.

Gregory, K. (2009, November 20). Alzheimer's disease: prevention preferred over treatment 'Star Trek' technology for cure a long way off, top researcher says [Electronic version]. Charleston Gazette. Retrieved on 21 April 2012 from Factiva database.