Smart home technology to support older people's quality of life: A longitudinal pilot study

Aim: This pilot study aimed to explore the impact of Smart Home technology to support older people's quality of life, particularly for those who live alone. Background: There has been an increased interest in using innovative technologies and artificial intelligence to enable Smart Home technology to support older people to age independently in their own homes. Methods: This study used a pre-and post-test design. The seven item Personal Wellbeing Index was used to measure participants' subjective quality of life across seven quality of life domains. Participants (n = 60) aged between 68 and 90 years (M = 80.10, SD = 5.56) completed a 12-week personalised Smart Home technology program. Results: Approximately half of the participants lived alone (48.3%). Participants' quality of life significantly increased (p = 0.010) after Smart Home use. Two domains, "achieving in life" (p = 0.026) and "future security" (p = 0.004), were also significantly improved after participating in the Smart Home technology program. Improvements in quality of life did not vary as a function of living arrangement (all ps > .152, all eta(2)(p) > .00). Conclusion: The current study provides preliminary evidence for the role of Smart Home technology in supporting older people's quality of life, particularly their sense of achieving in life and future security.