Nunez Matthew, Patel Prisha, Ulin Lindsey, Kian Leslie, Cominsky Martin, Burnett Jason, Lee Jessica L
McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
J Appl Gerontol. 2025 Jan 10:7334648251314284. doi: 10.1177/07334648251314284.
Social technology in older adults can improve self-rated health; however, there can also be difficulties using it. Our study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptance of virtual assistant device (VAD) use in cognitively impaired homebound older adults. 52 newly referred Meals on Wheels clients aged 60 and older were recruited for a three-phase study: 6 weeks of meals alone (control), followed by 6 weeks of meals+Alexa Echo Show 8 (AES8) basic usage, and lastly 6 weeks of meals+AES8 advanced usage. Technology acceptance with the AES8 was significantly higher by the end of the study and participants anecdotally enjoyed playing music, setting reminders, and accessing spiritual content. There were also associations with improvements in memory, depression, and gait speed, despite no specific health programming. Thus, we believe use of VADs for cognitively impaired homebound older adults have future potential to benefit their cognitive and physical health. NCT04581317. We certify that this work is novel because we were able to highlight improvements in the feasibility of use of a voice-activated virtual assistant device, technology acceptance, and some health indicators for underserved, cognitively impaired homebound older adults.
社交技术对老年人的自评健康状况有改善作用；然而，使用社交技术也可能存在困难。我们的研究旨在评估认知受损居家老年人使用虚拟助理设备（VAD）的可行性和接受度。招募了52名新转诊的60岁及以上的“送餐上门”服务客户参与一项三阶段研究：6周仅提供餐食（对照组），随后是6周的餐食 + 亚马逊智能音箱8（AES8）基础使用，最后是6周的餐食 + AES8高级使用。到研究结束时，对AES8的技术接受度显著提高，参与者们称很喜欢用它来播放音乐、设置提醒和获取宗教内容。尽管没有特定的健康相关程序，但使用AES8还与记忆力、抑郁症状和步态速度的改善有关。因此，我们认为，对于认知受损居家老年人而言，使用虚拟助理设备未来有可能使其认知和身体健康受益。临床试验注册号：NCT04581317。我们证明这项工作具有创新性，因为我们能够突出语音激活虚拟助理设备使用的可行性、技术接受度以及对服务不足的认知受损居家老年人的一些健康指标方面的改善。
