Did you miss one? Check out September’s Aging & Health Tech blog posts

September brings falling leaves, rising and falling hopes. Turns out that VCs are waking up to the opportunity in the longevity economy. Recognizing that people may live a lot longer, perhaps even to 100. How do you prepare for such a long life? Behold the rise of the active adult lifestyle, now enabled with a boom in 55+ rental communities. Combine that change with the ‘Forgotten Middle Market’ of senior living. Consider the Chicago Tribune article about tech for aging in place. Now add in the shortage of workers in home care, health care, and nursing homes. If there was a time to look at the role of monitoring and engagement technologies that augment and assist the worker in the care of older adults – it would seem that this is the time. Here are four Sept blog posts on these and related topics:

In a time of short-staffing, sensors are increasingly useful in the care of older adults. As part of the research into the Future of Sensors and Older Adults, interviewees outlined ways sensors could be useful for mitigating fall risk. And their role tracking trips to the bathroom has been useful in detecting UTIs, identifying wanderers, alerting about sleep issues, noting whether a person has eaten. In senior living or home care, permission to track this type of information is likely (hopefully) given at the onboarding of a new care recipient or resident. By mitigating some of these issues, older adults could remain home longer, supported by home care. Or they could extend time in a senior living home, prior to moving to a higher level of care. Read more.

Will robots help us in our homes – now and within 10 years? Context matters: consider the likely status of people in 10 years. It makes you think. Asked this question recently and pondered. What will be the context at that time? A decade from now, the oldest baby boomers will be 86. Women will outlive men by a few years – living on average into their late 80s. They may be solo agers – no children, spouse or partner. They may struggle financially – including the 15% of women who rely primarily on Social Security income. By 2030, 20% of the US population will be over the age of 65 -- and likely to be obese and living for at least 8 years with some level of disability. The demand for home care workers will grow by at least by 37%. According to PHI analysis, the job pays so poorly today that 40% live in low-income households and 43% rely on public assistance. Put all that together and at least the concept of helpful robots sounds pretty good. Read more.

Digital literacy – the required and moving target for older adults. Digital literacy – what is it? The term “Digital literacy” has been defined by the American Library Association task force as "the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills." Their definition of its importance began in the context of children and libraries. But its importance at every age, especially for older adults. Note that 25% of the 65+ population is not online. Yet for them, digital literacy is even more critical – when you consider how much useful information is available from or about our healthcare providers and related services. Consider the CDC definition of health literacy for individuals – "find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others." These capabilities are nearly entirely dependent on digital literacy – the ability to find and use information. Yet a new study just published noted that 91% of baby boomers felt overwhelmed by technology, with computers being the most daunting device. Read more.

Older adults need vendor empathy to attain digital literacy. Picking on Apple because they are there, but of course they are not unique. What’s new with iOS 16 on the iPad? Tap this on an iPad and you will see a screen that demonstrates ‘Collections’. And behold there’s the SNOOPY Show. Below that, advice on how to share what you’re watching on Apple TV (pictured are several smiling youths). So easy, on your Siri Remote, press and hold a button to open the control center, select the SharePlay button then choose what to watch together. Oops, not supported by all apps. Watch and listen together? More young folk. Add widgets to your home screen, ditto on the images. See ‘Reduce background noise.’ That’s fun: Open Control Center, tap Mic Mode, then tap Voice Isolation to make sure your voice comes through loud and clear. And so on. Go through the “Essentials’ and it’s more of the same – pictures are very cool, the people shown are very young. Welcome to iPad! The instructions are required because the UI behavior varies across different apps and screens. Read more.