Why Should I Use This? Identifying Incentives for Using AAL Technologies

摘要

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technologies have the potential to target the challenges of our aging population. However, little is known about what motivates older adults to adopt these new technologies. Most research in this area relies on single cases with a specific AAL application and a limited number of users. To fill this gap, a content analyses of 35 AAL reports was conducted. The aim was to provide a comprehensive overview of potential incentives for using AAL technologies. The data was coded using the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). In total 13 incentives could be identified, which were grouped into six categories: (1) social incentives, (2) health and safety incentives, (3) activity incentives, (4) novel sensory incentives, (5) status incentives and (6) self-reactive incentives. Within these categories 'social connectedness' and 'health and safety' were the most important incentives. These results provide a comprehensive and theoretically grounded understanding of what motivates older adults to adopt AAL technologies.