The Institute’s research programme on Technology and Ageing Populations is being developed to address two main areas:

• identifying and meeting the needs of an ageing population: Technology plays an important role in allowing older adults to remain active citizens in the community The Institute is particularly interested in the interface between the needs and abilities of older people and the engineering production of technology to fulfill these needs.
• addressing the user-technology interface: with particular emphasis on these cross-cohort differences, and with specific reference to the ICT age-divide, research needs to investigate the cohort-specific issues relating to the user-technology interface.

In recent decades, the introduction of ICT into the everyday environment of all citizens across cohorts means increasingly that an understanding and utilization of ICT is a fundamental pre-requisite for full and active citizenship – in the family (inter- and intra-generational interactions), in the workplace and in the public domain through access to public information and broader information. Cross-cohort heterogeneity introduces the risk that this development, while enhancing the potential for full and active citizenship of individuals, is in danger of creating a polarization of the population, which for a number of reasons may follow an unfortunate age–divide. In addition, the speed of continued development means that the ICT age-divide is not transitional, but simply takes on a different composition as new cohorts acquire new ICT skills.

The programme director, Dr George  Leeson, has worked extensively with user groups, academics and providers across Europe in these areas of research, beginning in 1979-1981 Specialist Advisor to the Danish Government Commission on Ageing; 1998 - 1999  Advisor to the Danish Government Programme on Older People and Technology; 1998 - 2000  International Advisor to British Government initiative Better Government for Older People; 2002 - Member of Help the Aged's Social Policy Committee; and 2003 - Member of EU-Network PEFETE on late life learning and full citizenship (including the role of ICT).

In recent years, Dr. Leeson has carried out research in the following related areas:

Education of Senior Citizens in Europe (EU Commission), Older People and Technology in Denmark  (Danish Ministry of Research & DaneAge), Older people and Media – a European study (EU Commission), and Older People and Media (Danish Ministry of Education). Dr. Leeson has also been responsible for Design for all Ages (EU Commission), which addressed design issues in the public domain in an ageing society.

Current Research

AKTIVE: Advancing Knowledge of Telecare for Independence and Vitality in later life

This project, funded by the Technology Strategy Board and ESRC through the Assisted Living Innovation Platform, will be conducted in collaboration with the Centre for International Research on Care, Labour and Equalities (CIRCLE, University of Leeds), Tunstall Healthcare (UK) Ltd and Inventya Solutions Ltd from June 2011 – May 2014. The project will investigate the uptake of assisted living technologies (ALTs) by older people diagnosed with dementia or falls and explore the potential of ALTs to achieve positive outcomes.

The partners will also work with consortium members across ten other organisations comprising of medical experts; experts on design, risk, disability and ergonomics; telecare commissioners in two local authorities; and a range of agencies representing and supporting older people, carers and care workers. The project will develop a unique knowledge base for UK ALT manufacturers offering comparative advantage re foreign competitors in a global growth market.

The study will involve:

• extensive mapping of state-of-the-art knowledge on the topic;
• analysis of telecare monitoring data in two local authorities;
• the development and use of a new methodology – ‘everyday life analysis’ - to explore how telecare installations impact on older people and their care networks in a sample of households, which will be studied over the course of a year;
• expert investigation and analysis of prospective risk for patients with falls and dementia diagnoses;
• and extensive dissemination and development activity to refine telecare products to meet client needs, identify effective routes to market for telecare solutions, and engage with bodies which support and advise carers and care workers working with older people in the identified groups. 

An interactive website will be in place in summer 2011, and a range of publications and reports will be launched during the lifetime of the project.

Researcher:  Dr Kate Hamblin

Funding: TSB and ESRC