Older Adults' Perspectives of Smart Technologies to Support Aging at Home: Insights from Five World Café Forums.

Globally, there is an urgent need for solutions that can support our aging populations to live well and reduce the associated economic, social and health burdens. Implementing smart technologies within homes and communities may assist people to live well and 'age in place'. To date, there has been little consultation with older Australians addressing either the perceived benefits, or the potential social and ethical challenges associated with smart technology use. To address this, we conducted five World Cafés in two Australian states, aiming to capture citizen knowledge about the possibilities and challenges of smart technologies. The participants (n = 84) were aged 55 years and over, English-speaking, and living independently. Grounding our analysis in values-based social science and biomedical ethical principles, we identified the themes reflecting the participants' understanding, resistance, and acceptance of smart technologies, and the ethical principles, including beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, privacy, confidentiality, and justice. Similar to other studies, many of the participants demonstrated cautious and conditional acceptance of smart technologies, while identifying concerns about social isolation, breaches of privacy and confidentiality, surveillance, and stigmatization. Attention to understanding and incorporating the values of older citizens will be important for the acceptance and effectiveness of smart technologies for supporting independent and full lives for older citizens.

The Health and Well-being Impacts of Community Shared Meal Programs for Older Populations: A Scoping Review.

Background and Objectives: There are social and economic benefits to supporting individuals to live independently for as long as possible. Structured shared meal programs provide opportunities for older individuals to connect in their communities and likely impact their health and well-being. Research in this area has not been summarized in recent years. This scoping review was undertaken to explore the impact shared meal programs may have for older community-dwelling adults. Research Design and Methods: Nine databases were systematically searched in 2020, and 5,996 unique studies were identified. Two independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full text for inclusion. Reference lists of included papers were hand searched, and the search was updated in 2021. Eighteen studies were included in the final review. Results: Studies were published between 1980 and 2021 and most were published in the United States. Most studies were cross-sectional, two adopted a qualitative design, one a cohort design. Significant associations were reported between shared meal programs and improved dietary intake; however, minimal improvements were reported for physical health measures. The programs had a positive impact on attendees' social networks and perceived well-being. Discussion and Implications: Structured shared meal programs show promise in supporting the health and well-being of older adults in the community. They provide additional nutrition, opportunities for social connection, and are perceived to contribute to perceived well-being. More investigation is required to understand how these programs work to facilitate health and well-being, and how they can best be used to improve health outcomes for older populations.