Articles
The Journal on Active Aging brings articles of value to professionals dedicated to older-adult quality of life. Content sweeps across the active-aging landscape to focus on education and practice. Find articles of interest by searching the article archives in three ways: Enter a keyword in the articles search bar; click on search by topic; or type a keyword or phrase in the general search bar at the top of the page.
Topic- Technology
Embodied Labs creates immersive training for staff and caregivers by Marilynn Larkin, MA
As a teenager, Carrie Shaw embarked on a journey that would last more than 12 years: helping her family care for her mother, who was diagnosed at age 49 with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. At one point, Shaw recalls, she struggled to explain her mother’s resulting visual impairment to professional caregivers. So, she let them experience it by modifying a pair of glasses, resulting in distorted vision and vision gaps. The caregivers understood immediately what her mother was experiencing--and Shaw understood she had hit upon a strategy that could be transformative for professionals working with individuals with dementia and other forms of cognitive and physical impairments. That strategy involved virtual reality (VR) technology. In 2016, motivated by her experiences, Shaw founded California-based Embodied Labs, headquartered in Los Angeles. She told the Journal on Active Aging, "Embodied Labs accelerates our ability to understand health conditions and life transitions that mainly affect older adults, so we can meaningfully connect and empathize."
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The flip side: Weighing benefits versus drawbacks of innovative technologies by Marilynn Larkin, MA
Technology: The word can evoke both excitement and uncertainty among active-aging industry providers in all settings, from senior living and seniors centers to health clubs and rehabilitation centers. Excitement, because new technologies often provide opportunities to accomplish tasks faster and more easily and may enable staff and constituents to take charge of their health and connect socially; uncertainty, because implementing those same applications often requires a change in the status quo, a learning curve and, of course, a cost. How do you know if you're choosing the right product for your wellness services-or if you even need it? How do you best apply and monitor it? How do you ensure the most beneficial aspects of technologies are successfully implemented, and with a minimum of disruption or mistakes? And how do you retain the personal, social connections so critical to well-being, while also staying current and competitive? "Technology has become both a solution and a challenge," states International Council on Active Aging CEO Colin Milner. In this interview, he shares examples of how technology can help-but at times work against-dimensions of wellness and society at large.
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Digital health privacy in active-aging settings: Will the law let you age well? by Tara Sklar, JD, MPH; Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS; Kathie Insel, PhD, RN; and Christopher Robertson, JD, PhD
What is privacy and how are our interpretations of it changing with advances in technology? This question, and concerns around potentially violating a person's right to privacy, have been emerging across industries around the world. Senior living providers have increased their exposure to privacy risks with the shift to implementing sensors throughout their communities. Typically located in digital health devices that can be worn on the body or placed in the environment, these sensors are capable of collecting and tracking data relevant to a person's health and well-being on a continuous monitoring basis. There are privacy laws and a growing public awareness that this type of 24/7 surveillance-and the unprecedented detailed level of data it generates-should be accompanied by measures that support personal data protection. It is important to note that these privacy risks also apply outside the housing context. This article describes the current legal landscape around digital health privacy and proposes possible solutions for organizations to be forward-looking with the evolving laws and consent practices
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How one telewellness project focused on helping older adults with mobility disabilities age in place by Tracy L. Mitzner, PhD, and Elena Remillard, MS
For many older adults, the ability to interact with others is an essential component of their quality of life, no matter where they are living. One of the most valued aspects of senior living communities, for example, is the wide range of opportunities for social engagement. ...Social connection is important not only for feelings of well-being, but it has also been linked to health outcomes.... Yet not all older adults are mobile, nor do they all have family and social relationships, let alone health-sustaining activities, within daily reach. With these limitations in mind, one promising solution to increasing social connectedness and access to health and wellness programs among older adults with disabilities--and by extension, also to those without disabilities--is tele-technology.
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Ebikes: Getting a charge out of recreation by Gwen Hyatt, MS
Riding an ebike, or electric bike, for the first time feels like you are a kid again but with super powers. Whether you are a long-time cyclist or just thinking about getting on a bike, an ebike can make the sport of cycling seem easy and joyful, as well as provide an alternative mode of transportation. What's more, ebikes not only offer a way for older adults with some physical limitations to enjoy the great outdoors, but they also provide a welcome option for shorter trips around the local community. What exactly is an ebike? It's a regular bike equipped with a small electric battery and motor to boost pedaling speed and power. ...Ebikes are quite different from mopeds, scooters and motorbikes: Most do not go faster than 20 mph, are silent and do not spew exhaust fumes. Ebike popularity is swelling, and their use can become an integral part of your older-adult recreational community, both for fitness and for fun.
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What's trending in digital health technologies to support aging in place?
The number of Americans aged 65 or older reached 50 million in 2016 and is expected to reach 95 million by the year 2060. The impact of this age wave--a phenomenon seen worldwide as well as in the United States--has significant implications for products and services, not the least of which is healthcare. For more than two decades, studies have shown that elders want to age in place and remain among family and friends in familiar environments. Though there are currently many assistive devices and home-based services that exist to help communities and families handle challenges of aging, a trend is emerging to define and coordinate global strategies for creating digital health systems into a roadmap to the future ...
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