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Voices and Views of Informal Caregivers: Investigating Ambient Assisted Living Technologies

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Ambient Intelligence (AmI 2017)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 10217))

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Abstract

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technologies are on the rise in an attempt to ensure the sustainability of elderly care. Informal caregivers are an important stakeholder group for the successful adoption of AAL technologies. However, the number of studies that specifically address the attitudes, concerns and needs of this group is limited. With the aim to engage this underrepresented user group and to highlight their opinion and needs, we conducted in-depth interviews with 20 informal caregivers to evaluate different AAL solutions in the field of mobility and safety. While informal caregivers recognized the safety and mobility benefits and the increased peace of mind – privacy issues, the lack of human touch and an unfelt need for support formed major barriers towards adoption. Informal caregivers have an important influence on care decisions and should be closely involved when developing AAL tools.

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Acknowledgements

Our gratitude goes to the research assistants F. Mokkink and M. Heideman who supported us in the data collection process. Furthermore, we want to thank all participants for sharing their insights with us.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Enschede, Netherlands

    Christina Jaschinski & Somaya Ben Allouch

  2. University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands

    Christina Jaschinski

Authors
  1. Christina Jaschinski
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  2. Somaya Ben Allouch
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christina Jaschinski .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fraunhofer IGD, Darmstadt, Germany

    Andreas Braun

  2. Center for Research in Security and Privacy CRISP, Darmstadt, Germany

    Reiner Wichert

  3. University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain

    Antonio Maña

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Jaschinski, C., Ben Allouch, S. (2017). Voices and Views of Informal Caregivers: Investigating Ambient Assisted Living Technologies. In: Braun, A., Wichert, R., Maña, A. (eds) Ambient Intelligence. AmI 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10217. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56997-0_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56997-0_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56996-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56997-0

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