Improving Assistive Technology for Older Adults
Enhancing the Community-Academic Aging Research Network to Support Assistive Technology (AT) Research for Older Adults by Designing for Dissemination and Health Equity
This project aims to make assistive technologies more accessible and useful for older adults, especially those from diverse and underrepresented communities.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Wisconsin-Madison NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Madison, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11179291 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Many older adults could benefit from assistive technologies, but often face challenges like cost, privacy concerns, or feeling embarrassed to use them. This project wants to bring together experts from different fields, along with older adults themselves, to create and test new technologies that truly meet their needs. We are especially focused on making sure these helpful tools reach older adults from all backgrounds, who might not have had access before. Our goal is to help more older adults live independently and improve their health and daily lives.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates for future related studies would be older adults, especially those from diverse and historically underrepresented communities, who could benefit from assistive technologies due to age-related or multiple chronic conditions.
Not a fit: Patients who are not older adults or do not have conditions that assistive technology could address may not directly benefit from this specific research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to more effective and widely adopted assistive technologies that improve the health, function, and independence of older adults, particularly those from underrepresented groups.
How similar studies have performed: While the potential of assistive technology is known, this project takes a novel approach by enhancing a community-academic network to specifically address barriers to adoption and health equity for older adults.
Where this research is happening
Madison, United States
- University of Wisconsin-Madison — Madison, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mahoney, Jane E — University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Study coordinator: Mahoney, Jane E
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.