JMIR Aging

Older adults frequently experience cognitive, physical, sensory, motivational, and environmental barriers that affect medication management. Medication adherence technologies (MATs) can support adherence, but their usability varies widely depending on individual abilities and device features. Prior research has largely focused on overall adherence or user experience, providing limited insight into feature-level usability challenges.

Social isolation among older adults is a growing public health concern. While information and communication technologies offer opportunities for social engagement, few studies have examined how video game co-play, a form of interactive digital media, supports intergenerational connection and perceived social support among older adults.

Storytelling interventions have demonstrated substantial potential in improving emotional well-being, cognitive function, and quality of life for older adults. However, its effectiveness is often limited by the challenges of processing disorganized and redundant life stories, which impose substantial cognitive demands on caregivers. Although storytelling interventions are a well-established therapeutic approach, current practices depend heavily on manual narrative organization, restricting both the scalability and consistency of treatment delivery. Prior research has primarily focused on validating the clinical outcomes of storytelling interventions, with insufficient attention given to technological solutions that could enhance narrative processing while preserving therapeutic integrity. Digital approaches to life story structuring remain underexplored, despite their potential to amplify storytelling benefits by reducing cognitive load and improving recall accuracy.

Being socially connected is essential for health and well-being. Nonetheless, many older adults face social isolation, especially in ethnically diverse societies. Digital technologies offer a pragmatic approach to addressing problems with social connectedness; however, a consolidated understanding of their association with social connectedness among ethnic minority older adults remains unaddressed.

Older adult activity recognition is a critical task in long-term care monitoring; yet, it remains challenging due to postural deformities and health-related variability. These factors cause different activities to appear visually similar, or the same activity to appear dissimilar, undermining the effectiveness of traditional human activity recognition models developed for the general population.

Exercise has a positive impact on the health of older adults. However, due to physical conditions, psychological factors, and external environment constraints, older adults still face significant challenges in maintaining exercise. Exercise adherence is relatively low. Extended reality (XR) technology offers new ways for older adults to exercise and improve their adherence. Existing research mainly focuses on short-term effects, paying insufficient attention to maintaining long-term engagement and establishing effective incentive mechanisms. By introducing service design methods, user experience, stakeholder collaboration, and adherence support can be better integrated at different stages of exercise intervention, thereby enhancing the willingness and enthusiasm of older adults to continue to participate in exercise.

Dementia affects more than 55 million people worldwide, and its progressive cognitive decline creates substantial challenges for intervention testing and real-world implementation. Living Labs (LLs) have become increasingly relevant for piloting interventions in dementia care, offering real-world environments for cocreation and iterative testing. However, operational, ethical, and governance challenges can hinder the effective implementation of dementia-focused initiatives.

Digital eldercare services are promoted to address gaps in traditional care provision, yet actual uptake among older adults remains limited. Prior research has largely focused on technological attributes, with less attention to older adults’ context-specific behavioral attitudes toward digital services.

Digital platforms disseminating health information and providing support for the experience of non-memory-led dementias (NMLDs) are invaluable. However, the factors influencing engagement with these resources in people affected by NMLDs are poorly understood. We conducted the world’s largest survey exploring the experience of digital access in NMLDs to learn directly from people with a diagnosis, their care partners, and NMLD health care professionals (HCPs).

Internet use may support cognitive health in aging populations, but the digital divide in access and use might worsen inequalities.

A higher prevalence of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia is associated with a greater caregiver burden and increased mortality in people with dementia. Considering the possibility of a reciprocal relationship between sleep disturbances and these symptoms, time series analyses are necessary to explore the associated temporal dynamics.

Older adults often face mobility challenges and usability barriers when navigating transportation options due to age-related physical, cognitive, and sensory changes. While transportation planning e-tools can support their independence, most are not designed for their specific needs. There is a lack of comprehensive, age-friendly usability design principles tailored to this context.