Emerging Technologies for Aging in Place

Extraordinary societal changes in the United States have taken place from both human and technological perspectives. Life expectancy continues to increase, due to improvements in both medical care and technology. Older adults, 65 years plus, comprise about 12.4% of the United States population with about one in every eight Americans being in this age group (U.S. Administration on Aging, 2002). By 2030, the percentage will have increased to 20% of the total population representing twice the number as in 2000. Those 85 years and older represent the fastest growing group (He, Sengupta, Velkoff, & DeBarros, 2005). Older adults in the United States not only are living longer, but many are staying longer in their homes before entering institutionalized care. Compared to past generations, an unprecedented number of adults sixty years and older are aging in place. In 1985, there were approximately 5.5 million functionally disabled elderly living in their communities and an additional 1.3 million living in nursing homes. Each of these figures is projected to double to 10.1 million and 2.5 million; respectively, by 2020 (Manton, 1989). This is significant from both individual and national perspectives in terms of the burden of skyrocketing healthcare costs. The U.S. Bureau of the Census (Fields & Casper, 2001) has reported that more than 55% of older adults live at home with their spouse. The number of adults living without a spouse increases with age, with about 50% of women aged 75 years and older living alone at home. Many older adults prefer to age in place rather than in an assisted living facility (Riche & MacKay, 2005), citing independence and social interaction as being critical to their well-being (Hirsch, Forlizzi, Hyder, Goetz, Kurtz, & Stroback, 2000). Complicating the choice to age in place are health and other personal limitations that necessitate continuous care. About seven million older adults over 65 years are estimated to have mobility or self-care limitations (U.S. Administration on Aging, 2002). Similar to other nations, the United States faces a critical challenge in dealing with an aging population that has unprecedented life expectancies. Emerging technologies offer the hope of allowing older adults to remain in their homes longer by empowering individuals to manage daily activities while dealing with chronic health conditions and age-related diseases. These technologies increasingly target a home environment whereby on a regular basis an individual can obtain assistance in performing daily living activities, stay connected to family and friends, manage medication, and be monitored for health-related changes. As important as these assistive technologies are for individuals and families, their potential for positively impacting the United States economy by changing the model of healthcare delivery is equally huge.