Aging & Social Change: Twelfth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

We framed our project within both the field known as gerontechnology, which emerged in the 1990s to highlight the interplay between aging and technology (McDonough, 2016, 1) and socio-technology. We looked at the impact on both seniors and managers of senior serving organizations of distributing to vulnerable seniors several hundred senior friendly integrated android tablets preloaded with apps, data and security. Given that access to and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is recognized as a social determinant of health, the lack of connectivity found among disadvantaged seniors is cause for concern. Providing them with free pre-loaded tablets ensured their ability to maintain their health and well-being and facilitated their ability to age in place. It also enhanced the efficiency of the senior serving sector to serve the aging population more effectively. We provide the general and specific objectives of our study, its target population, and quantitative and qualitative data assessing the effectiveness of the tablets in removing barriers and connecting both seniors and senior serving organizations with the digital world. We also share information on policy and practice recommendations and future collaborative research.