Exploring the Role of Active Assisted Living in the Continuum of Care: Thematic Analysis (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Active Assisted Living (AAL) refers to systems designed to improve quality of life, aid in independence, and create healthier lifestyles for those who need assistance at any stage of their lives. As the population of older adults in Canada grows, there is a pressing need for non-intrusive, continuous, adaptable, and reliable health monitoring tools to support aging in place and reduce healthcare costs. AAL has great potential to support these efforts with the wide variety of solutions currently available, but insufficient efforts have been made to address older adults and their care providers' concerns arising from the integration of AAL into care. OBJECTIVE The study aimed to work closely with stakeholders to ensure that recommendations for system-service integrations for AAL aligned with the needs and capacity of the healthcare and allied-health systems. METHODS A literature review was conducted to identify past work related to AAL and the continuum of care and any associated areas of need. Thereafter, 18 interviews with stakeholders were conducted to complement this review, with participants who were either (1) working in care organizations, (2) working in technology development organizations, (3) working in technology integration organizations, or (4) potential care recipients or patient advocates. The results from interviews were coded using a thematic analysis to identify future steps and opportunities regarding AAL. RESULTS Our study showed the need to acknowledge the trade-off inherent in AAL use between the benefits of the technology, their encroachment on privacy, and their cost in terms of time and finances. This trade-off is influenced by several factors, including the care context and what resources care recipients have available to them. Participants described how greater consistency in oversight is needed, preferably at the national level. CONCLUSIONS There is a need for better role definition regarding who can access and who is responsible for acting based on the gathered data and understanding of the trade-off of using AAL technologies in care settings. Further work is necessary to address these needs, as well as explore the equity of AAL access and the development of a data governance framework for AAL in the continuum of care.