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Digitization of Aging-in-Place: An International Comparison of the Value-Framing of New Technologies

Author

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  • Barbara L. Marshall

    (Department of Sociology, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9L 0G2, Canada)

  • Nicole K. Dalmer

    (Department of Health, Aging and Society McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M4, Canada)

  • Stephen Katz

    (Department of Sociology, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9L 0G2, Canada)

  • Eugene Loos

    (School of Governance, Utrecht University, 3511 ZC Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Daniel López Gómez

    (Department of Psychology and Education, Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3), Open University of Catalonia, 08018 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Alexander Peine

    (Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands)

Abstract

Planning for aging populations has been a growing concern for policy makers across the globe. Integral to strategies for promoting healthy aging are initiatives for ‘aging in place’, linked to services and care that allow older people to remain in their homes and communities. Technological innovations—and especially the development of digital technologies—are increasingly presented as potentially important in helping to support these initiatives. In this study, we employed qualitative document analysis to examine and compare the discursive framing of technology in aging-in-place policy documents collected in three countries: The Netherlands, Spain, and Canada. We focus on the framing of technological interventions in relation to values such as quality of life, autonomy/independence, risk management, social inclusion, ‘active aging’, sustainability/efficiency of health care delivery, support for caregivers, and older peoples’ rights. The findings suggest that although all three countries reflected common understandings of the challenges of aging populations, the desirability of supporting aging in place, and the appropriateness of digital technologies in supporting the latter, different value-framings were apparent. We argue that attention to making these values explicit is important to understanding the role of social policies in imagining aging futures and the presumed role of technological innovation in their enactment.

Suggested Citation

  • Barbara L. Marshall & Nicole K. Dalmer & Stephen Katz & Eugene Loos & Daniel López Gómez & Alexander Peine, 2022. "Digitization of Aging-in-Place: An International Comparison of the Value-Framing of New Technologies," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-14, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:12:y:2022:i:2:p:35-:d:758851
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Louis Neven & Alexander Peine, 2017. "From Triple Win to Triple Sin: How a Problematic Future Discourse is Shaping the Way People Age with Technology," Societies, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-11, September.
    2. Giacomini, Mita & Hurley, Jeremiah & Gold, Irving & Smith, Patricia & Abelson, Julia, 2004. "The policy analysis of `values talk': lessons from Canadian health reform," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 15-24, January.
    3. Carol Bacchi, 2016. "Problematizations in Health Policy," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(2), pages 21582440166, June.
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