Saragosa Marianne, Abejirinde Ibukun-Oluwa Omolade, MacEachern Evan, Nelson Michelle LA, Kokorelias Kristina M, Bharmal Sidra, Ludwig Prout Brina, Mohamed Marian
Science of Care Institute, Sinai Health, 1 Bridgepoint Drive, Toronto, ON, M4M 2B5, Canada, 1 416-461-8252 ext 2895.
Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
JMIR Aging. 2025 Jul 30;8:e71093. doi: 10.2196/71093.
Older adults prefer to age in their home or community of choice, which could include naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs). As a place with a high density of older adults, NORCs could be sites where technology is leveraged to support independence and aging in the right place. However, there is limited research on how technology adoption and use occur in NORCs in ways that support older adults.
This study aims to cocreate a research agenda on equity-informed technology considerations that help older adults live independently in NORCs.
This is a 2-phase sequential qualitative descriptive study of 5 community-based focus groups and an in-person World Café event. We use the focus group method to acquire data about older adults' experiences with and perceptions of using technology to support aging-in-place in NORC settings. This data informs the design and facilitation of deliberate dialogues at the World Café event. Three questions helped to guide the small group discussions. The World Café is a creative, collaborative, and conversation-generating method that aims to generate exchanges between people with different views on a particular topic.
In total, 45 NORC residents participated in a focus group about their experience and use of technology. The data revealed 3 central categories that highlight the perception of the use of technology to support the independence of participants in their homes and communities, its challenges, and areas to consider when deploying technology for helping older adults age in place. The subsequent World Café event included 40 participants and a combination of NORC residents, service providers, researchers, technology innovators, and policy makers. Insights drawn from the focus groups and World Café informed a 10-question research agenda about equity-informed technology principles that span accessible support, accessible interfaces, affordable and equitable access, available digital literacy training, accessible data, and accessible partnerships.
Our study explores NORCs as potential environments for offering a transformative opportunity to address equity considerations for technology supporting aging in place. Our findings and research agenda highlight critical areas for consideration, including leveraging partnerships, integrating public and private technology ecosystems, and designing technology with older users that evolves with the population's needs. Notably, by embedding principles of equity, inclusivity, and user-centered design, the collective of developers, researchers, and service providers can ensure that emerging technology serves diverse aging populations equitably and effectively.
老年人更倾向于在自己选择的家中或社区养老，这可能包括自然形成的退休社区（NORC）。作为老年人高密度聚居的地方，NORC可以成为利用技术来支持老年人在合适的地方独立生活和养老的场所。然而，关于NORC中技术的采用和使用如何以支持老年人的方式发生的研究有限。
本研究旨在共同制定一个基于公平性的技术考量研究议程，以帮助老年人在NORC中独立生活。
这是一项分两个阶段进行的顺序定性描述性研究，包括5个基于社区的焦点小组和一次面对面的世界咖啡馆活动。我们使用焦点小组方法获取有关老年人在NORC环境中使用技术以支持就地养老的经历和看法的数据。这些数据为世界咖啡馆活动中精心设计的对话提供了信息并推动其进行。三个问题有助于指导小组讨论。世界咖啡馆是一种富有创造性、协作性且能引发对话的方法，旨在促进对特定主题有不同观点的人之间的交流。
共有45名NORC居民参加了关于他们技术使用经历的焦点小组。数据揭示了3个核心类别，突出了对使用技术支持参与者在家庭和社区中独立生活的看法、其面临的挑战以及在部署技术以帮助老年人就地养老时需要考虑的领域。随后的世界咖啡馆活动有40名参与者，包括NORC居民、服务提供者、研究人员、技术创新者和政策制定者。从焦点小组和世界咖啡馆中获得的见解形成了一个包含10个问题的研究议程，涉及基于公平性的技术原则，涵盖无障碍支持、无障碍界面、可承受且公平的获取、可用的数字素养培训、可获取的数据以及可及的伙伴关系。
我们的研究将NORC探索为一个潜在的环境，以提供一个变革性的机会来解决支持就地养老技术的公平性考量。我们的研究结果和研究议程突出了需要考虑的关键领域，包括利用伙伴关系、整合公共和私人技术生态系统以及与老年用户共同设计随人群需求发展的技术。值得注意的是，通过融入公平性、包容性和以用户为中心的设计原则，开发者、研究人员和服务提供者群体可以确保新兴技术公平且有效地服务于多样化的老年人群体。
