Person-Centered Technology for Older Adults: Benefits, Limitations, and Considerations in Design and Use
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Use of technology is widespread in healthcare, and although much has been written about innovative technology in support of older adults, little research focuses on whether technology facilitates person-centeredness-the ability to serve individuals' interest, values, goals, and needs. Using person-centeredness as a framework, we solicited input regarding technology's potential to maximize quality of life based on discussions with care providers and experts in technology design and aging-related healthcare. Discussion identified that technology can facilitate or impede person-centeredness depending on its adaptability and implementation. Further, co-design with older adults, caregivers, family members, and clinicians is considered critical to eliciting person-centered goals from the end-user, meaning that technology designers should involve these groups in all phases of design. Importantly, it was also noted that inequity in access based on income, location, and race/ethnicity prevents technology from reaching many older adults; therefore, person-centeredness in technology must address this issue.
Source: Journal of Applied Gerontology
Language: English
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung, University of Utah, Innovative Research Group Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Sick Kids Foundation, W. Garfield Weston Foundation, Kidney Research UK, European Commission, South African Medical Research Council, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Danmarks Grundforskningsfond, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Cairo University, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, Rural Development Administration, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Vetenskapsrådet, China Scholarship Council, Beijing Municipal Health Commission, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, Education Department of Shaanxi Province, Novo Nordisk Fonden, Forsknings- och utvecklingsstyrelsen för Göteborg och Södra Bohuslän, Agriculture Research System of China, Shaanxi Science and Technology Association, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca, National Institutes of Health, Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Sichuan Province Science and Technology Support Program, College of Social and Behavioral Science, University of Utah, Tao Yuan General Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Beijing Nova Program, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Clarendon Fund, Key Research and Development Projects of Shaanxi Province, National Institute on Aging, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, NextGenerationEU
OpenAlex ID: W7165639331