Supporting Social Participation of the Elderly Using Smart Speakers
Kozue Ishikawa (AY 2020)
Objective: In recent years, the importance of supporting the independence of the elderly has increased. Related studies have shown that supporting the elderly to go out and talk with family members is effective in maintaining physical and mental health, but at present, effective approaches for the elderly who spend a lot of time at home or live alone have not yet been established. On the other hand, smart devices are being used in systems to monitor the lives of the elderly from a distance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to test the effectiveness of smart speakers in helping the elderly themselves record and reflect on their lives, and 2) to investigate the impact of smart speakers on the social participation of the elderly.
Method: Participants were recruited from members of the same exchange activity group, and the study was conducted on five elderly people (three men and two women) living in Ibaraki Prefecture for one month from mid-October to mid-November. Smart speakers were installed in the respondents' homes, and they were asked to answer daily questions reflecting their daily lives. The questions consisted of four items related to daily activities such as going out, cooking, cleaning, and getting enough sleep. In addition, at the end of the one-month survey, data was extracted and a life review report was prepared and distributed. While reading this report, participants were asked to reflect on their lives during the month and to complete a questionnaire asking them to describe their feelings and thoughts about their past records. In addition, a subjective well-being questionnaire was administered at the beginning and end of the study to measure changes in mental aspects associated with the use of the smart speaker.
Results: Changes in awareness, such as "I will record my daily life, so I will clean the house", were found in the descriptions in the retrospective report questionnaire. In addition, the analysis of the content of the speech to the smart speakers showed that they were used for "greeting", "chatting", "music", "weather forecast", and "news", which revealed the information needs of the elderly. On the other hand, the participants were asked to reflect on the data obtained one month later, and none of the items showed significant changes in their living conditions. Regarding subjective well-being, out of 17 items, there was an upward trend in scores for five items, such as "I am as healthy as I was last year," but the changes in scores were small.
Conclusion: Although there were no numerical changes in both living conditions and subjective well-being, it was confirmed that it is possible to record and reflect on one's daily life with the right support, even with smart speakers, a device that all participants were using for the first time. Furthermore, although only the daily life review was an essential task in this study, the smart speaker was used in a variety of ways to meet the needs of each participant. This method of support is sufficiently feasible to be incorporated into the daily lives of older adults, and further research aimed at helping older adults become more independent can be expected.
(Translated by DeepL)