Using Technology to Support Older Adults: Ethical Challenges and Solutions

Workshop Presentation
Marie-Michèle Lord,  Rébecca Gaudet,  Valérie Poulin,  Lyson Marcoux,  Pierre Yves Therriault,  Ginette Aubin,  Marie-Josée Drolet  

The technological shift in the health and social services sector has accelerated in recent years. Among other things, healthcare innovations designed to meet older adults’ needs are on the rise. The ethical issues surrounding the use of technology in healthcare are increasingly well-documented. We discuss ethical issues associated with the deployment of technologies to support older adults, as well as ways of countering them. A review of the literature on the ethical issues involved in deploying healthcare technologies with older adults was carried out. Results were put into perspective with reflections from the team of a living lab in Quebec (Canada). This structure fosters the emergence of innovations by and for the communities concerned. In addition to issues associated with confidentiality, privacy and digital inequities, epistemic injustice is one of the growing issues associated with the use of technologies in healthcare, especially with vulnerable populations. This term refers to situations where individuals or groups are unfairly wronged in their capacity to share and create knowledge. It highlights how systemic and interpersonal factors can undermine someone's ability to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from the knowledge-sharing processes within a society. Indicators can be used to detect such ethical issues. This presentation will enable various stakeholders who use or wish to use technologies with older adults to remain alert to ethical issues. In particular, we will explore ways of truly including older adults during creation and deploying technologies that concern them.