Caregivers can be barriers to tech-savvy seniors

Family caregivers are unintentional barriers to technology adoption and usage by older adults in their care even though they acknowledge it can be an important way of enriching the care recipient's life.

The results are from the Global Social Enterprise Initiative (GSEI) at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and Philips who conducted a three-part aging study.

The Philips/GSEI study, which surveyed caregivers most likely to use technology as a caregiving tool, revealed a series of contradictions in the attitudes and behaviors among the caregivers and their care recipients providing insights into the low adoption of technology for aging well.

Almost half (44 percent) of caregivers said they are concerned that the older adults in their care are depressed or lonely, and recognize the importance of entertainment and enrichment activities, such as social interaction, entertainment, and education. Sixty-two percent of those surveyed said that enrichment for the care recipient is at, or near, the top of their priority list.

Moreover, in one-on-one interviews with a group of care recipients, they most often cited social interaction as what matters most to them as they age. However, 67 percent of caregivers report that the older adult in their care has not started any new enrichment activities in the past two years and most often seeks enrichment through watching television and talking on the phone.

It is not the caregiver’s lack of desire or ability that prevents them from introducing new technology to their care recipients. For instance, the study reveals that 63 percent of caregivers believe their care recipient is open to using new technology. Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of caregivers said it is fun or extremely fun to teach a care recipient a new technology and 72 percent said they feel capable of teaching a new technology.

While 63 percent indicated they believe they have the time to invest in teaching their care recipient a new technology, most caregivers in the study reported spending an average of 88 hours per month on caregiving activities. This is in addition to other daily responsibilities--72 percent work full time and 76 percent have children in their household.  

Additionally, when asked what they would do if technology could be employed to cut the time spent on caregiving duties in half, caregivers prioritized personal errands, quality time with their own family, and entertainment over spending more time with their older adult loved one. In fact, only 17 percent of the recovered time would be allocated toward spending more time with their care recipient.  

“Caregivers are so overwhelmed by the demands of managing basic needs that they tend to only think of technology as tools to save time or provide safety,” Bill Novelli, founder of the Global Social Enterprise Initiative and Georgetown McDonough distinguished professor of the practice, said in a release. “We need to eliminate the disconnect between the caregivers’ ability to incorporate enriching technology into their care routines and their role in providing basic care for their loved ones.”

In addition to time constraints placed on the caregiver, the caregiver’s perception of what defines successful aging focuses on the health of the adult for which they are caring. As a result, caregivers are viewing technology for aging well too narrowly and products aimed at caregivers primarily fall into the category of health and safety monitoring--which give caregivers comfort and peace of mind. However, there was virtually no mention of technology use for social interaction or enrichment among caregivers, even though 73 percent acknowledge that the older adult in their care will become more reliant on them for entertainment and enrichment as they age.