Factors Associated with the Acceptance of New Technologies for Ageing in Place by People over 64 Years of Age

Background: In the context of growing population ageing, technologies aimed at helping people age in place play a fundamental role. Acceptance of the implementation of technological solutions can be defined as the intention to use a technology or the effective use of it. Approaches based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) have been shown to have good predictive power for pre-implementation attitudes towards new technologies.

Objective: To analyze the degree of acceptability of the use of new technologies for ageing in place and the factors associated with greater acceptance in people older than 64 years.

Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out. Sociodemographic, clinical and environmental variables, architectural barriers, social risk and quality of life, degree of autonomy, morbidity, and risk of falls were collected in a population sample over 64 years of age in a large region of western Spain. The degree of acceptance of the use of technologies was measured through a scale based on the TAM.

Results: Of the 293 people included in the study, 36.2% exhibited a high acceptability of new technologies, 28.3% exhibited a medium acceptability, and 35.5% exhibited a low acceptability. Of all the factors, age, education level, and living alone were significantly associated with high acceptance in the adjusted analyses.

Conclusions: Younger age, a higher education level, and living alone are factors associated with a greater degree of acceptance of the use of technologies for ageing in place.