Promoting Inclusive Living Via Technology-Enabled support
The INVITE project aimed to investigate how assistive and everyday technologies can be implemented in retirement living properties to improve residents’ quality of life and sustain inclusive communities.
The research, which was funded by the Longleigh Foundation, was undertaken by the University of Stirling in partnership with Stonewater to explore how technology can maximise opportunities to support residents to live well and safely, including when they develop conditions such as dementia. The focus of the study was driven by increasing interest within health and social care policy in assistive living technologies as tools to enable older people to ‘age in place’, retaining independence within their own homes. To date, the evidence base around the effectiveness of such technology is somewhat equivocal at best, with major studies showing limited impact on older people’s wellbeing, or on levels of demand for health and social care services.
Barriers to uptake and high rates of abandonment have been attributed to lack of involvement of older people and those who care for them in the process of implementing technological solutions to age-related problems. Hence, the INVITE project took a co-production approach, working closely with Stonewater residents, family members, staff and other stakeholders to examine how technology can be identified, adopted and used in a person-centred fashion.
The project worked across three of Stonewater’s retirement living schemes over 18 months, a report of the findings is now available. The findings will be used to develop good practice guidance for implementation of technology-enabled support that emphasises equality, inclusive design and linking people together within inclusive environments.
Research findings
Full report
Read the full report from the INVITE project here.
Or watch our video that brings the findings to life:
The INVITE project podcast
In this episode guest host Dr Vikki McCall talks about what we've learned from the INVITE project.
Further resources
Pre-work
Our initial scoping review looked at the existing research around assistive and mainstream technology and explored co-production as an approach to involving older people effectively.
Watch an earlier project update to see how fieldwork was conducted.
News and views
The project team have written a blog to share their learnings and reflections from the project. You can read their blog here.
You can also watch our HAPPI Hour event, hosted by the Housing Learning and Improvement Network. Hear from Emma Tobin, Head of Wellbeing at Stonewater, and Dr Vikki McCall, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy and Housing, University of Stirling, as they discuss the findings.
Stonewater project team
University of Stirling project team