As a society we have reached an inflection point where disparities in technology adoption rate by age group, amid the pandemic, and technological innovations are altering the landscape of the healthcare, creating both opportunities and challenges for improving healthy aging. Today, a person can expect to live an average of 22 years longer than people who were alive 70 years ago. There is evidence of the accelerated diffusion of technologies; however, data show consistent disparities in adoption rates. Older adults adopt digital technologies later compared to younger adults. The ubiquity and adaptive features of advanced and digital technologies act as an enabler to enhance autonomy, independence and quality of life of older adults. Interventions involving advanced and digital technological are becoming more frequent. However, older adults and their caregivers have concerns about privacy, safety, the risks associated with data breaches, and the effectiveness of technologies. If older adults do not adopt technologies, either because they are not willing to or are unable to access them, the enabler effect of technology for senior living would be lost. This research seminar explores these issues and proposes a comprehensive research program in technology for healthy aging that integrates the acceptance, adoption, and usability of technologies; the implementation and validation of technologies; and the design and development of digital platforms and use of data analytics to monitor and predict healthy aging trajectories, i.e., the result of interactions between individuals and the environments they live in over time.
Presented by: Antonio Miguel Cruz
Antonio Miguel Cruz earned a BSc (Nuclear Engineering) degree at Nuclear Science Institute, Habana, Cuba, and MSc (Bioengineering) and PhD (Bioengineering) degrees at the Technological University, Habana, Cuba. His academic career began at the Technological University, Faculty of Electrical Engineering where he was Associate Professor and chair of the Bioengineering Centre. He also served as Full Professor and the Chair of the Biomedical Engineering Program, Universidad del Rosario, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bogotá, Colombia. Currently, he is an Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, and a clinical researcher at Glenrose Rehabilitation Research, Innovation & Technology (GRRIT). He is an adjunct assistant professor in the School of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Health at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on acceptance and adoption of technologies by older adults, their care partners, and health care professionals.