An Empirical Study on Challenges Faced by the Elderly in Care Centres

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The fact of our lives is that we will be reaching to elderly life stage sooner or later. Our elderly community has been left far behind of new technology updates. Technology advances just as age is catching up on us. To many who are in their twilight years, using cutting edge technologies may be a hurdle in their activities of daily living (ADLs).

OBJECTIVES: Therefore, this study aims to identify and measure the ADL challenges that the elderly encounter and improve their quality of life (QoL).

METHODS: This research embarked on semi-structured interviews at 9 geriatric care centres in Malaysia to investigate the ADL challenges by the elderly residents. The thematic analysis approach was employed for data analysis and further discussion.

RESULTS: The research findings suggested that the QoL of the elderly is limited by the challenges of geriatric issues, poor living conditions, and technology acceptance barriers.

CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the current research provides an overview of the ADL challenges faced by the elderly with recommendations of user-centred Internet of Things (IoT) devices for elderly to use in an ambient assisted living (AAL) environment in Society 5.0.