Czaja Sara J, Charness Neil, Rogers Wendy A, Sharit Joseph, Moxley Jerad H, Boot Walter R
Center on Aging and Behavioral Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Innov Aging. 2024 Apr 25;8(6):igae042. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igae042. eCollection 2024.
Technology has potential for providing support for aging adults. This study evaluated the Personal Reminder Information and Social Management 2.0 (PRISM 2.0) software, in terms of enhancing social engagement and quality of life, and decreasing loneliness among older adults.
The randomized field trial conducted in diverse living contexts (rural locations, senior housing, and assisted living communities [ALC]). Two hundred and forty-five adults, aged 64 to 99 years, were randomly assigned to the PRISM 2.0 (integrated software system designed for aging through an iterative design process) or a Standard Tablet (without PRISM) Control condition, where participants received the same amount of contact and training as those in the PRISM 2.0 condition. Primary outcomes included measures of loneliness, social support, social connectedness, and quality of life. Secondary outcomes included measures of social isolation, mobile device proficiency, and technology readiness. Data were collected at baseline and 6 and 9 months postrandomization. This article focuses on the 6-month outcomes due to coronavirus disease 2019-related data challenges at 9 months.
Contrary to our hypothesis, participants in rural locations and senior housing in both conditions reported less loneliness and social isolation, and greater social support and quality of life at 6 months, and an increase in mobile device proficiency. Participants in the ALCs in both conditions also evidenced an increase in mobile device proficiency. Improvements in quality of life and health-related quality of life were associated with decreases in loneliness.
This study provides compelling evidence about the benefits of technology for older adults in terms of enhancing social outcomes and quality of life. However, the findings also underscore that for technology applications to be successful, they need to be adapted to the abilities and needs of the user group and instructional support needs to be provided.
CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION #: NCT03116399.
技术具有为老年人提供支持的潜力。本研究评估了个人提醒信息与社交管理2.0（PRISM 2.0）软件在增强老年人社交参与度和生活质量以及减少孤独感方面的作用。
在多种生活环境（农村地区、老年住宅和辅助生活社区[ALC]）中进行随机现场试验。245名年龄在64至99岁之间的成年人被随机分配到PRISM 2.0（通过迭代设计过程为老年人设计的集成软件系统）组或标准平板电脑（无PRISM）对照组，对照组参与者接受与PRISM 2.0组相同数量的联系和培训。主要结局包括孤独感、社会支持、社会联系和生活质量的测量指标。次要结局包括社会隔离、移动设备熟练程度和技术准备情况的测量指标。在基线以及随机分组后6个月和9个月收集数据。由于2019年冠状病毒病相关的数据挑战，本文重点关注6个月时的结局。
与我们的假设相反，两种情况下农村地区和老年住宅的参与者在6个月时报告的孤独感和社会隔离感较少，社会支持和生活质量更高，并且移动设备熟练程度有所提高。两种情况下ALC中的参与者也证明了移动设备熟练程度有所提高。生活质量和健康相关生活质量的改善与孤独感的降低有关。
本研究提供了令人信服的证据，证明技术在改善老年人社会结局和生活质量方面的益处。然而，研究结果也强调，要使技术应用取得成功，需要使其适应用户群体的能力和需求，并提供指导支持。
NCT03116399。
