Everyday Functioning Benefits from an Assisted Living Platform amongst Frail Older Adults and Their Caregivers

Ambient assisted living technologies (AAL) are regarded as a promising solution to support aging in place. Yet, their efficacy has to be demonstrated in terms of benefits for independent living and for work conditions of caregivers. Hence, the purpose of this study was to assess the benefits of a multi-task AAL platform for both Frail older Individuals (FIs) and professional caregivers with respect to everyday functioning and caregiver burden. In this context, a 6-month field study involved 32 FIs living at home (half of them were equipped by the platform and the remaining half were not, as a control condition) and their caregivers. Everyday functioning measures were reported by frail participants and caregivers. Self-reported burden measures of caregiver were also collected. The main results showed that the caregiver's estimates of everyday functioning of equipped participants were unchanged across time, while they decreased for the control participants. Also, a reduction of self-reported objective burden was obtained after 6 months of AAL intervention for the equipped group, compared to the control group. Overall, these results highlighted the potential of AAL as a relevant environmental support for preventing both functional losses in FIs and objective burden professional caregiver.


Appendix 1 Measures related to the HomeAssist use
-Usage scenario tests : Each usage scenario test ranges on a scale of 3; the score depends on the type and number of errors made by the user, and whether the task was performed within the allocated time (varying in respect of task difficulty). A score of 3 denotes a task performed without errors and within the allocated time. A score of 2 corresponds to a task performed with minor errors but within the allocated time. A score of 1 is when the user did not complete the task or made major errors.
Participants underwent these tests twice, i.e. 6 weeks and 6 months after the HomeAssist installation (modalities of Time factor). The Table 2 denotes the means, the standards deviations, and the main statistical results from the two ANOVAs performed for assessing time effect and usage scenario factor. Overall, the improvement of interaction behaviors across time was observed for all the two scenarios related to the main tablet while a slight converse effect was observed for all the two scenarios related to the secondary tablet (significant interaction effect between Time and scenario factors).  Table 2. Mean (M) and standard deviation (SD) sores from the four usage scenarios according to time condition (t6w: 6 weeks after; t6m : 6 months after HomeAssist installation).
-The Attrakdiff questionnaire decomposes user experience into five dimensions: ergonomic quality, hedonic quality, appealingness, anxiety and safety perception, and social influence. Answers to the questionnaire range over a scale of 7 points, from −3 to 3, including two antonyms (e.g., nervous/relaxed). Each dimension of the questionnaire consists of 6 items. Participants underwent this questionnaire tests three times, i.e. before the HomeAssist installation (baseline for participant's Perceptions regarding Assistive technologies), 6 weeks and 6 months after the HomeAssist installation (experimental conditions for participant's perception about HmeAssist). These three times refer to the modalities of Time factor. The Table 3 denotes the means the standards deviations, and the statistical results from the  F(2,30)= 7.03; p <.01 ; η 2 =.319 F(4,60)= 4.50; p <.01 ; η 2 =.234 F(8,120)= 3.50 p =.001 ; η 2 =.189 Table 3. Mean (and standard deviation) sores from the five dimensions of user experience measured with the Attrakdif questionnaire according to time condition (t0: before HomeAssist installation; t6w: 6 weeks after; t6m : 6 months after HomeAssist installation).
-The QUEST 2.0 questionnaire is a measure of user satisfaction with assistive technologies with two components, Device and Services. The questionnaire consists of 12 items and each item is evaluated on a scale ranging from 1 to 5. A value 1 corresponds to 'not satisfied at all' and a value 5 to 'very satisfied'. The total score is on a scale of 5. A high score denotes a high user satisfaction with the technology.
Participants underwent this questionnaire twice, i.e. 6 weeks and 6 months after the HomeAssist installation (modalities of Time factor). The Table 4 denotes the means, the standards deviations, and the main statistical results from the ANOVA performed for assessing the time effect and the user-experience dimensions effect. Overall, the user satisfaction with HomeAssist was high, but slightly decreased with time (significant time effect), and assistive services elicited more satisfaction than devices used for HomeAssist (tablets and supports) (significant dimension effect).