Background Emerging gerontechnology seeks to enable older adults (OAs) to remain independently and safely in their homes by connecting to health and social support and services. There are increasing attempts to develop gerontechnology, but successful implementations are more likely limited because of the uncertainty of developers about the needs and priorities of OAs. As the global population ages, the challenges faced by older OAs in maintaining independence and well-being within their homes have become increasingly important. With the proportion of OAs expected to triple by 2068, addressing the needs of this demographic has become a pressing social and public health priority. OAs often encounter various challenges related to physical, cognitive, and social well-being, including reduced mobility, memory impairments, and social isolation, which can compromise their ability to age in place and maintain a high quality of life. Objective The goals of this qualitative research study are to (1) determine the best strategies for promoting aging well in the community with the support of gerontechnology, (2) establish the top priorities for implementing gerontechnology with OAs and their families, and (3) create a road map for the creation and application of gerontechnology for aging well in Manitoba. Methods A total of 14 OAs participated in a qualitative research study conducted through a coconstruction workshop format, including a presentation of novel research facilities and a demonstration of research and development products. This activity was followed by an interactive discussion focused on revisiting the ongoing research and innovation programs and planning for a new research and innovation agenda. The workshop contents, notes, and recorded conversation underwent a data-driven inductive analysis. Results Emerging themes included home design, accessibility, and safety for OAs, particularly those with memory impairments. The participants also underlined the need for digital reminders and ambient technologies in current homes as a priority. Participants stressed the importance of including OAs in gerontechnology development programs and the need to consider dignity and independence as the guiding values for future research. Conclusions This study presents a tentative road map for the development of gerontechnology in Manitoba. The main principles of our road map are the inclusion of OAs as early as possible in gerontechnology development and the prioritization of independence and dignity. Applying these principles would contribute to combatting digital ageism and the marginalization of OAs in technology development because of the perceived lack of technological skills and the stereotypes associated with this presumption.

BACKGROUND Emerging gerontechnology seeks to enable older adults (OAs) to remain independently and safely in their homes by connecting to health and social support and services. There are increasing attempts to develop gerontechnology, but successful implementations are more likely limited because of the uncertainty of developers about the needs and priorities of OAs. As the global population ages, the challenges faced by older adults (OAs) in maintaining independence and well-being within their homes have become increasingly important. With the proportion of older adults expected to triple by 2068, addressing the needs of this demographic has become a pressing social and public health priority. OAs often encounter various challenges related to physical, cognitive, and social well-being, including reduced mobility, memory impairments, and social isolation, which can compromise their ability to age in place and maintain a high quality of life. OBJECTIVE The goals of this qualitative research study are to (1) determine the best strategies for promoting aging well in the community with the support of gerontechnology, (2) establish the top priorities for implementing gerontechnology with OAs and their families, and (3) create a road map for the creation and application of gerontechnology for aging well in Manitoba. METHODS Fourteen OAs participated in a qualitative research study conducted through a co-construction workshop format, including a presentation of novel research facilities and a demonstration of research and development products. This activity was followed by an interactive discussion focused on revisiting the ongoing research and innovation programs and planning for a new research and innovation agenda. The workshop contents, notes, and recorded conversation underwent a data-driven inductive analysis. RESULTS Emerging themes included home design, accessibility, and safety for OAs, particularly those with memory impairments. The participants also underlined the need for digital reminders and ambient technologies in current homes as a priority. Participants stressed the importance of including OAs in gerontechnology development programs and the need to consider dignity and independence as the guiding values for future research. CONCLUSIONS This paper presents a tentative roadmap for the development of gerontechnology in Manitoba. The main principles of our road map are the inclusion of OAs as early as possible in gerontechnology development and the prioritization of independence and dignity. Applying these principles would contribute to combatting digital ageism and the marginalization of OAs in technology development because of the perceived lack of technological skills and the stereotypes associated with this presumption. CLINICALTRIAL

The need to deliver rehabilitation services remotely has increased dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Over the last decade, there has been a surge in the use of virtual reality (VR) as an in-home rehabilitative tool. VR undoubtedly offers the user an unequalled opportunity to immerse in the task at hand entirely. Clients with neurologic conditions need continuous cognitive training, but receiving such care at home without a therapist is challenging. Programs projected on screens are inadequately designed for use in non-conventional settings such as the home environment due to a lack of technological literacy in most cases and the inability of a person with a neurological condition to operate technology efficiently, particularly in the case of altered dexterity. Home setting entails user-friendly portable devices with as less client involvement as possible. This paper presents an immersive VR platform developed for the in-home neurocognitive rehabilitation of seniors with neurologic conditions. This paper introduces a newly developed immersive VR-based neurocognitive program to be administered in the homes of seniors with neurological disorders. The setup consists of a commercial headset with two wireless hand-held controllers and two base stations on a tripod each. The setup supports a comprehensive program introduced by the researcher, consisting of 24 sessions of about 20 min each. The program is to be completed at home in a self-paced manner over a 12-week training period. The paper also discusses the benefits of the training program and the challenges for seniors with neurologic conditions to engage in immersive VR.KeywordsVirtual realityrehabilitationneurologic disorders

Emerging digital healthcare solutions (DHS) have opened wide range of opportunities for tele-monitoring and improvements in health behavior. These solutions not only help monitor health status, but also aid towards diagnosis, prevention and better management of health conditions. DHS have a broad scope in long-term care, disease management as well as addressing psychological and social needs of patients. In this chapter we discuss tele-monitoring solutions for long-term care and solutions for rehabilitation. Long-term care includes a wide range of care services for patients of varied age groups with chronic conditions or functional disabilities. Their requirements can vary from minimal help for conducting daily activities to complete care. Tele-monitoring assistance can aid self-monitoring for such patients while also being digitally connected with their health care providers. The scope of these solutions for long-term care includes addressing issues such as fatigue and anxiety, quality of life, nutrition, sleep, physical activity, etc. The advancements in rehabilitation technologies are increasingly enhancing the role of rehabilitation in building and maintaining the self-dependence and quality of life of patients. The field of rehabilitation often requires complex technologies, such as virtual reality, robotics and haptic devices. The healthcare application of these technologies revolves around providing solutions for efficient home rehabilitation, multimodal approaches for recovery, to support activities of daily living and to enhance clinical assessment. Thus, the use of emerging technologies can aid family members of apparently healthy older adults and also detect mild symptoms while relying on a user-friendly solution.

Background: Owing to demographic trends and increasing health care costs, quick discharge with geriatric rehabilitation at home is advised and recommended for older adults. Telerehabilitation has been identified as a promising tool to support rehabilitation at home. However, there is insufficient knowledge about how to implement a validated home telerehabilitation system in other contexts. One of the major challenges for rehabilitation professionals is transitioning to a blended work process in which human coaching is supplemented via digital care. Objective: The study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the factors that influence the implementation of an evidence-based sensor monitoring intervention (SMI) for older adults by analyzing the perspectives of rehabilitation professionals working in 2 different health ecosystems and mapping SMI barriers and facilitators. Methods: We adopted a qualitative study design to conduct 2 focus groups, 1 in person in the Netherlands during winter of 2017 and 1 on the web via Zoom (Zoom Video Communications; owing to the COVID-19 pandemic) in Canada during winter of 2022, to explore rehabilitation providers' perspectives about implementing SMI. Qualitative data obtained were analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants were a group of rehabilitation professionals in the Netherlands who have previously worked with the SMI and a group of rehabilitation professionals in the province of Manitoba (Canada) who have not previously worked with the SMI but who were introduced to the intervention through a 30-minute web-based presentation before the focus group. Results: The participants expressed different characteristics of the telerehabilitation intervention that contributed to making the intervention successful for at-home rehabilitation: focus on future participation goals, technology support provides the rehabilitation professionals with objective and additional insight into the daily functioning of the older adults at home, SMI can be used as a goal-setting tool, and SMI deepens their contact with older adults. The analysis showed facilitators of and barriers to the implementation of the telerehabilitation intervention. These included personal or client-related, therapist-related, and technology-related aspects. Conclusions: Rehabilitation professionals believed that telerehabilitation could be suitable for monitoring and supporting older adults' rehabilitation at home. To better guide the implementation of telerehabilitation in the daily practice of rehabilitation professionals, the following steps are needed: ensuring that technology is feasible for communities with limited digital health literacy and cognitive impairments, developing instruction tools and guidelines, and training and coaching of rehabilitation professionals.