Research and Exploration (Overview and Recent)
Most of our research is designed to help older adults and their families make decisions and choices about topics that impact quality of life as we grow older — choices like which products and services can help older adults live independently for longer, and delay the time at which growing older gets in the way of living life to the full.
In addition, some of our work is designed to help innovators develop products and services that older adults like us will actually want and find useful.
Our recent work is below. To explore by topics, go to Topics & Things.
Most recent
Making TV "Useful" For My 94-yr-old Aunt
This is about how I took advantage of the ubiquity of TV in the lives of many older adults. By adding various "smart" integrations, I turned the TV from simply a source of background noise into a useful tool — that helps my 94-yr-old aunt accomplish all sorts of things she previously had trouble with.
Featured
Can Alexa Help Fight Loneliness and Isolation?
Perhaps it seems counterintuitive that an artificial intelligence(AI) might help combat loneliness and isolation. But as our Longevity Explorers evaluate the latest version of Alexa, paired with the Amazon Echo Show, which has an excellent video call capability, we are starting to see great potential for these products to do just that.
And while there are a variety of initiatives evaluating the potential of interactions between older adults and Alexa (Amazon's artificial intelligence) as a way to reduce loneliness, we think the communication capabilities of the Echo Show may make possible deeper human to human interactions (with friends and family for example) as well.
Recent Analysis and Exploration
Featured Research
Medical Alert Systems: Help
We kept getting asked "which medical alert system is best?"; and "how do I choose the right medical alert system for me?". This independent, objective, hands-on research tries to answer those questions. If you are looking for a medical alert system, either for yourself or for an older adult such as a parent, this piece of research is for you.
Choose the Right Medical Alert System for YOU
Useful Apps Club
Unlock the potential of your smartphone or tablet to improve your life. The Useful Apps Club is for older adults and Boomers who have a smartphone or tablet (or are thinking of getting one) and need help to turn it into a useful tool. We are focused on finding Apps that can change your life, and teaching you how to use them.
Reduce Fall Risk
Read the "best of the web" on: Avoiding Falling. Our team of clinicians and citizen analysts has scoured the web for the best available answers to a set of questions designed to help you make falling less likely, and make the consequences if you do fall less bad.
View: Avoid the Perils of Falling
Avoid Social Isolation & Loneliness
Our community is exploring ways to avoid becoming isolated and lonely as we grow older. See what we are discovering — including one group of older adult's "recipe" for overcoming loneliness.
View: Isolation & Loneliness Hub
Medication Management Tools
Poor medication management is one of the key reasons people are forced to stop living independently. There are a wide range of tools that can help you manage your medications — and avoid, or at least postpone, that fate. We have researched which products work best for different types of people, ranging from simple inexpensive pill boxes and reminders to complex "automated" pill dispensers.
View: Medication Management Hub
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Get the latest insights on what works, what doesn't work, and for whom.
Products & Resources Database.