Using Smart Home Technologies to Promote Physical Activity Among the General and Aging Populations: Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Health Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Smart home technologies are increasingly integrated into health monitoring, potentially replacing traditional 9-to-5 healthcare services.
• A gap exists in reviews examining smart home technologies for promoting physical activity and independent living across diverse age groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and map studies on smart home technologies designed to enhance physical activity in general and aging populations.
• To identify the current state-of-the-art, potential applications, and research gaps in this field.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across six major databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, ACM Library, Web of Science).
• Inclusion criteria focused on user studies of smart home or Active Assisted Living technologies promoting physical activity, published in English peer-reviewed journals.
• Three researchers independently assessed study eligibility and extracted data.

Main Results:

• Twenty articles published between 2018-2020 dominated the review, with most studies originating from Western countries.
• Activities of daily living and physical activity were the most frequently studied, with K-nearest neighbor and naïve Bayes classifiers being common algorithms for activity recognition.
• Ambient and wearable technologies were equally prevalent, with activity recognition being the primary goal; most studies reported positive outcomes, often conducted in laboratory settings.

Conclusions:

• Smart home technologies, including digital assistants and robots, show efficacy in promoting physical activity in younger individuals.
• While underrepresented, smart home technologies offer significant potential for supporting older adults in aging in place and maintaining independence, particularly in regions facing care worker shortages.
• Further research, including cross-cultural studies and randomized controlled trials, is crucial to assess the effectiveness and acceptance of these technologies among the aging population.