Smart home technology to support older people's quality of life: A longitudinal pilot study.
Christina Aggar, Golam Sorwar, Carolyn Seton and 2 others
PMID 35785517WHAT IT FOUND
After 12 weeks of a government-funded smart home program, 60 older people reported higher overall quality of life, with clearer gains in feeling able to achieve things and secure about the future.
No control group.
Key findings
01Participants' composite quality of life score increased significantly after the 12-week smart home program.
02Satisfaction with achieving in life and future security improved significantly, while other quality-of-life domains did not.
03Improvements did not differ between participants who lived alone and those who did not.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This was a pilot with no control group, so the change could reflect time, attention, expectations or other events rather than the smart home program. The sample was 60 people recruited by convenience from an aged care and disability service in regional Australia, and most were female, so the results may not apply to other groups. Participants received a bundle of technology, installation and support, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. Quality of life was self-reported, and completing the survey was voluntary and not required to receive the technology. The living arrangement comparison had 29 people in each group, while the paper said 67 per group were needed to detect a medium effect, so the null finding for living alone is uncertain. The conclusion also notes that the small sample size and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic limited generalisability.
Declared interests
The 12-week smart home program was government-funded. The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that Google Home alone, or smart home technology in general, has been shown to improve older people's quality of life. This was a 12-week pilot with no control group, and the package included Google Hub, Google Nest Mini, smart switches, lighting, optional extra devices such as Google Protect, smoke detector, smart lighting, light strips, smart vacuum, smart mop, smart lock, smart doorbell, motion sensor or security camera, technical support and sometimes Internet dongles, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.