Abstract
There exist a number of technology applications with the potential to improve the quality of life of older adults (aged 65+) across numerous domains including transportation/mobility, health/wellness, socialization/communication, recreation, lifelong learning, and home support. However, despite the potential rewards use of technology applications can provide, older adults are less likely to adopt new and emerging technologies. We propose a model for technology adoption and investigate the potential factors associated with adoption specifically among older age groups. Our study is a two-phase study focusing on identifying factors associated with technology adoption among older adults (including the “oldest old”) and understanding the decisions older adults make when choosing or not choosing to use a technology. This presentation summarizes and presents results from the first phase of the study which involved six focus groups. Focus groups were conducted where groups of 8–10 participants were introduced to a variety of new and emerging technologies (nine technologies total) through formal presentations. Participants were asked to rate the technologies on such factors as perceived value, effort to learn, need for and availability of assistance in learning, willingness to pay, and privacy concerns, among others; after the ratings were complete, participants then informally discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each technology. In this presentation we discuss factors identified in these focus groups as significant predictors of technology adoption and discuss differences among participants on variables such as age, language/culture, technology experience, and self-assessment of abilities. We also present data on identified challenges and barriers to technology adoption.