Norwich Institute for Healthy Ageing, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom.
Older Peoples Medicine Department, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich, United Kingdom.
J Med Internet Res. 2024 Jul 30;26:e58846. doi: 10.2196/58846.
In this viewpoint, we present evidence of a marked increase in the use of assistive technology (AT) by older adults over the last 25 years. We also explain the way in which this use has expanded not only as an increase in terms of the total number of users but also by going beyond the typical scopes of use from its inception in 1999 to reach new categories of users. We outline our opinions on some of the key driving forces behind this expansion, such as population demographic changes, technological advances, and the promotion of AT as a means to enable older adults to achieve independent living. As well as our review of the evolution of AT over the past 25 years, we also discuss the future of AT research as a field and the need for harmonization of terminology in AT research. Finally, we outline how our experience in North Norfolk (notably the United Kingdom's most old age-dependent district) suggests that cocreation may be the key to not only successful research trials in the field of AT but also to the successful sustained adoption of AT beyond its original scope of use.
在这篇观点文章中，我们提出了过去 25 年来，辅助技术（AT）在老年人中使用显著增加的证据。我们还解释了这种使用方式的扩展方式，不仅体现在用户总数的增加上，还体现在从 1999 年开始的典型使用范围之外，扩展到了新的用户类别。我们概述了推动这一扩展的一些关键因素，如人口结构变化、技术进步以及将 AT 作为使老年人实现独立生活的手段的推广。除了回顾过去 25 年 AT 的发展演变之外，我们还讨论了 AT 研究作为一个领域的未来，以及在 AT 研究中术语协调的必要性。最后，我们概述了我们在诺福克北部（特别是英国最老龄化的地区）的经验，表明共创可能是成功进行 AT 领域研究试验的关键，也是超越其最初使用范围成功持续采用 AT 的关键。
