Examining Technology Perspectives of Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Scoping Review

2025-04-08

AI Summary

This study addresses the genuine health technology needs and usage barriers faced by older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Conducting a scoping review of 83 empirical studies published between 2014 and 2024 across nine major databases—including CINAHL, Scopus, and IEEE Xplore—the authors applied thematic analysis to synthesize cross-source evidence from the user’s perspective, moving beyond technocentric paradigms. The primary contribution is a novel, evidence-informed, five-dimensional “human-centered adaptation” framework: (1) enhanced usability, (2) personalized functionality, (3) identification of individual interaction preferences, (4) multimodal interaction support, and (5) seamless integration into daily living contexts. This framework provides actionable, empirically grounded guidance for designing age-inclusive digital health technologies, advancing the field’s shift from function-oriented to experience-oriented gerontechnology development.

Technology Category

• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Adaptive Behavior
• Humans and AI: Interaction Techniques and Devices
• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Psychology-informed user models and recommender systems
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Research challenges in human and human-AI computation
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy

Abstract

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) affects a person's memory and how they think, feel or behave. Up to 20% of people over 65 years may get MCI and up to 15% of these may progress to dementia. Globally the occurrence of MCI is increasing, and technology is being explored for early intervention and to reduce strain on the aged-care sector. Theories of technology adoption predict that useful and easy-to-use solutions will have higher rates of adoption. This study adds to existing knowledge by reporting on analysis of a search across nine databases (ACM Digital Library, EBSCOhost CINAHL Plus with Full Text, EBSCOhost Computers and Applied Sciences Complete, Google Scholar, JMIR, IEEE Xplore, EBSCOhost Medline, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection) for articles published between Jan 2014 and May 2024 which describe opinions of older people with MCI about technological solutions proposed for them, and feedback about how they prefer to engage with technology. Analysis of 83 articles suggests that existing solutions do address priority needs, however more work is needed to (i) improve ease of use, (ii) enable personalisation, (ii) explore interaction preferences and effectiveness of different interaction modes, (iv) enable multimodal interaction, and (v) integrate solutions seamlessly into daily routines.

Problem

• Exploring technology adoption by older adults with MCI
• Assessing ease of use and personalization in tech solutions
• Improving multimodal interaction for MCI patients' daily routines

Innovation

• Improve ease of use for MCI patients
• Enable personalisation in technology solutions
• Integrate solutions into daily routines