Smart-Home Technologies to Assist Older People to Live Well at Home

Background: With the rapid population ageing that is occurring world-wide, there is increasing interest in "smart home" technologies that can assist older adults to continue living at home with safety independence. This systematic review and critical evaluation of the world wide literature assesses the effectiveness and feasibility of smart-home technologies for promoting independence, health, well-being and quality of life, in older adults. Methods: A total of 1877 “smart home” publications were identified by the initial search of peer reviewed journals. Of these, 21 met our inclusion criteria for the review and were subject to data extraction and quality assessment. Results: Smart-home technologies included different types of active and passive sensors, monitoring devices, robotics and environmental control systems. One study assessed effectiveness of a smart home technology. Sixteen reported on the feasibility of smart-home technology and four were observational studies. Conclusion: Older adults were reported to readily accept smart-home technologies, especially if they benefited physical activity, independence and function and if privacy concerns were addressed. Given the modest number of objective analyses, there is a need for further scientific analysis of a range of smart home technologies to promote community living.