Use of in-home activity monitoring technologies in older adult veterans with mild cognitive impairment: The impact of attitudes andcognition

Abstract

Background: As researchers incorporate in-home technologies to identify and track changes in older adults’ cognitive and daily functioning that could lead to early interventions, the attitudes of older adults across the continuum from normal cognitive aging to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) must be assessed to ensure technology adoption and adherence in each unique group. Objective: This exploratory pilot study incorporated both quantitative and qualitative approaches to examine mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and cognitively intact older adults’ attitudes (i.e., usability, acceptability, digital readiness, barriers) and adherence to in-home technologies after undergoing 7 months of in-home activity monitoring. Method: Participants were 30 older adult veterans who were classified as cognitively intact (n = 15) or having mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n = 15) and participated in a longitudinal aging and technology study that monitored their physical activity and computer use. Results: While MCI older adults endorsed reduced digital readiness (p =.041) and required more in-home technology maintenance visits (p =.04l) from staff as compared to cognitively intact older adults, there was no difference in adherence to the study technology (p >.05). Usability and acceptability attitudes in the entire sample predicted adherence to the physical activity monitoring technology employed in the study (p =.008). Conclusion: Findings highlight the potential gap between technology developers and older adult end users, and technologies designed specifically for older adults with MCI should be developed with direct input from older adults with MCI to promote usability and long-term adoption in this clinical population. Larger studies are needed to replicate and increase the generalizability of the current findings.