Socially Assistive Devices in Healthcare–a Systematic Review of Empirical Evidence from an Ethical Perspective
Authors (first, second and last of 4)
Collection
Ethical and societal implications of Age Tech
AgeTech refers to a growing sector that is advancing the use of technologies, such as information and communication technologies (ICTs), mobile technologies, robotics, wearables and smart home systems to enhance the lives of older adults. While AgeTech has primarily focused on older people with age-related diseases and disabilities, recent years has seen increasing attention given to enhancing the overall quality of life of older people and enabling them to lead an active, healthy, and independent lives. One of the main objectives of AgeTech is to maintain older people in their own living environment and cater to their needs by optimizing the provision of health services and other forms of support. This more holistic approach is made possible by collecting and processing large amounts of data through various means of monitoring and surveillance. Based on this data, intelligent systems are used to create safe und supportive living environments for end users. Although AgeTech can be seen as an opportunity for empowering older people, crucial ethical issues have to be addressed. For example, by changing the ways of interaction and communication between health service providers and olderpeople, AgeTech transforms the practices involved in providing health services. Hence, ethical issues in AgeTech are multifaceted, arise in different contexts, and are in part determined by the crosssectoral organization of health services for the older people. Thus, an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach is needed that facilitates a dialogue between the different actors and disciplines involved, giving each the opportunity to provide their expertise and perspective. This special issue will bring together perspectives from medical informatics, engineering science, nursing science, social sciences, and ethics to provide a more holistic and coherent picture of the ethical issues in AgeTech.
Editors
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Giovanni Rubeis
Giovanni Rubeisis a medical ethicist focusing on digitalized healthcare. He currently leads the research project “Development of ethical requirements for AI-based assistive systems for older persons” at Heidelberg University and published on the topic.1 He also organized the international interdisciplinary workshop “Ethical aspects of digital solutions in nursing care. An interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral dialogue” in Hanover, September 2020.
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Andrew Sixsmith
Andrew Sixsmithis Associate Director of AGE-WELL Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE), Canada’s Age Tech network. In numerous publications, he focusses on technology for independent living, theories and methods in aging, and understanding the innovation process.
