Home living older adults' subjective perceptions, evaluation, and interpretations of various welfare technology: A systematic review of qualitative studies

Zada Pajalic; Sofia Elisabeth G Olsen; Annabel Hamre; Benedicte Sørensen Strøm; Celine Clausen; Diana Saplacan; Gunilla Kulla

doi:10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100470

Home living older adults' subjective perceptions, evaluation, and interpretations of various welfare technology: A systematic review of qualitative studies

Public Health Pract (Oxf). 2024 Jan 19:7:100470. doi: 10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100470. eCollection 2024 Jun.

Authors

Zada Pajalic¹, Sofia Elisabeth G Olsen¹, Annabel Hamre¹, Benedicte Sørensen Strøm², Celine Clausen³, Diana Saplacan⁴, Gunilla Kulla⁵

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Health Sciences Sustainable Healthcare and Welfare Technology (SHWT) VID Specialized University, Oslo, Norway.
² Lovisenberg Diaconal University College, Oslo, Norway.
³ Oslo Municipality, Grorudhuset, Oslo, Norway.
⁴ Robotics and Intelligent Systems (ROBIN) Research Group, University of Oslo, Norway.
⁵ Faculty of Health Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Forde, Norway.

Abstract

Objectives: This paper aims to map home-living older adults' subjective perceptions, evaluations, and interpretations of various welfare technologies.

Study design: Systematic literature review.

Methods: The study was designed as a systematic literature review of qualitative studies. This systematic literature review was carried out according to the PRISMA statement and was prospectively registered in PROSPERO registration number CRD42020190206. The international electronic bibliographic databases included AMED, Academic, CINAHL, Cochrane Reviews, EMBASE, Google Scholar, MEDLINE via PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The scientific evidence was synthesized using qualitative analysis. All aspects of the study method followed COREQ guidelines.

Results: Following a detailed systematic search and screening of 1405 studies, 10 were included in the systematic review. The study shows that implementing Welfare Technology seems to prolong older adults' independent living in their own homes and was perceived as a complement to face-to-face contact with health care providers.

Conclusions: This study indicated that older adults consider accepting Welfare Technology as it contributes to a sense of security and empowerment in their everyday lives.

Keywords: Home living; Older adults; Perception; Welfare technology.