Enhancing the Community-Academic Aging Research Network to Support Assistive Technology (AT) Research for Older Adults by Designing for Dissemination and Health Equity

Project Summary/Abstract Assistive technology (AT) has the potential to improve the health and function of older adults. However, multiple barriers, such as perceived stigma, financial costs, and perceived threats to privacy, impact older adult acceptance and use of AT. Studies identify that older adults from historically underrepresented (HU) groups have less access to and use of AT. In addition, older adults particularly those from HU groups, are often excluded from participating in research and in AT development. Further, AT development occurs in silos with little, if any, input from older adults and other disciplines (clinicians, social scientists, healthcare providers), thus limiting innovation and new ways of thinking about AT use and the needs of older adults. Our long-term goal is to increase the number and reach of effective AT interventions designed to improve the health and function of older adults, increase aging in place, and reduce disparities. The objective of this proposal is to create a mature and sustainable infrastructure that facilitates the formation and collaboration of transdisciplinary teams of engineers and computer scientists, healthcare providers, social scientists, and community partners to develop, test, and disseminate innovative AT interventions for older adults from diverse and historically underrepresented populations with age-related or multiple chronic conditions. To achieve this goal, we will expand the Community- Academic Aging Research Network (CAARN) infrastructure in a new direction to facilitate older adult engagement in AT and to connect engineers and computer scientists, healthcare providers, and end users to promote a better understanding of the technology needs of a diverse older adult population and create an environment for transdisciplinary engagement. We will accomplish our objective through three aims: Aim 1: To bring together multidisciplinary researchers (engineers, computer scientists,, clinicians, social scientists) and community end users to investigate the needs for and barriers to using AT from historically underrepresented communities prior to design; Aim 2: To facilitate community-academia partnerships to develop new or refine existing AT through iterative cycles of input/design/prototype testing and feedback; and Aim 3: To demonstrate preliminary feasibility, acceptability, safety, and functionality of new and/or refined AT among adopters, implementers, and end users of the technology. The result of this new infrastructure will be the development of new AT that: a) is feasible to use with broad reach and adoption; and b) is likely to be effective in promoting equitable older adult independence and health.