Supporting Well-Being: Exploring the Value of a Digital Coach for Older Adults in the Transition from Work to Retirement.

Supporting older adults' health and well-being in the transition from work to retirement requires a holistic perspective and needs to address physical, mental, and social aspects of life. In a field study, applying a mixed-methods approach, we investigated to what extent the prototype of a digital coach can support older adults in this sensitive phase. We aim at answering the central research question: How can a digital coach support older adults in the transition from work to retirement to establish and maintain a healthy lifestyle? Overall, 32 participants from Austria and Belgium took part in an eight-week trial. App-based interventions in different domains (physical, mental, social) were provided and aimed at motivating the target group to become and/or stay active. The study shows that the digital coach has potential to support health and well-being on various levels. In particular, the mental activities proofed valuable and supported older adults' well-being.

Cocreating a Harmonized Living Lab for Big Data-Driven Hybrid Persona Development: Protocol for Cocreating, Testing, and Seeking Consensus.

BACKGROUND: Living Labs are user-centered, open innovation ecosystems based on a systematic user cocreation approach, which integrates research and innovation processes in real-life communities and settings. The Horizon 2020 Project VITALISE (Virtual Health and Wellbeing Living Lab Infrastructure) unites 19 partners across 11 countries. The project aims to harmonize Living Lab procedures and enable effective and convenient transnational and virtual access to key European health and well-being research infrastructures, which are governed by Living Labs. The VITALISE consortium will conduct joint research activities in the fields included in the care pathway of patients: rehabilitation, transitional care, and everyday living environments for older adults. This protocol focuses on health and well-being research in everyday living environments. OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this study is to cocreate and test a harmonized research protocol for developing big data-driven hybrid persona, which are hypothetical user archetypes created to represent a user community. In addition, the use and applicability of innovative technologies will be investigated in the context of various everyday living and Living Lab environments. METHODS: In phase 1, surveys and structured interviews will be used to identify the most suitable Living Lab methods, tools, and instruments for health-related research among VITALISE project Living Labs (N=10). A series of web-based cocreation workshops and iterative cowriting processes will be applied to define the initial protocols. In phase 2, five small-scale case studies will be conducted to test the cocreated research protocols in various real-life everyday living settings and Living Lab infrastructures. In phase 3, a cross-case analysis grounded on semistructured interviews will be conducted to identify the challenges and benefits of using the proposed research protocols. Furthermore, a series of cocreation workshops and the consensus seeking Delphi study process will be conducted in parallel to cocreate and validate the acceptance of the defined harmonized research protocols among wider Living Lab communities. RESULTS: As of September 30, 2021, project deliverables Ethics and safety manual and Living lab standard version 1 have been submitted to the European Commission review process. The study will be finished by March 2024. CONCLUSIONS: The outcome of this research will lead to harmonized procedures and protocols in the context of big data-driven hybrid persona development among health and well-being Living Labs in Europe and beyond. Harmonized protocols enable Living Labs to exploit similar research protocols, devices, hardware, and software for interventions and complex data collection purposes. Economies of scale and improved use of resources will speed up and improve research quality and offer novel possibilities for open data sharing, multidisciplinary research, and comparative studies beyond current practices. Case studies will also provide novel insights for implementing innovative technologies in the context of everyday Living Lab research. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/34567.

Acceptance and Potential Impact of the eWALL Platform for Health Monitoring and Promotion in Persons with a Chronic Disease or Age-Related Impairment.

Pervasive health technologies can increase the effectiveness of personal health monitoring and training, but more user studies are necessary to understand the interest for these technologies, and how they should be designed and implemented. In the present study, we evaluated eWALL, a user-centered pervasive health technology consisting of a platform that monitors users' physical and cognitive behavior, providing feedback and motivation via an easy-to-use, touch-based user interface. The eWALL was placed for one month in the home of 48 subjects with a chronic condition (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-COPD or mild cognitive impairment-MCI) or with an age-related impairment. User acceptance, platform use, and potential clinical effects were evaluated using surveys, data logs, and clinical scales. Although some features of the platform need to be improved before reaching technical maturity and making a difference in patients' lives, the real-life evaluation of eWALL has shown how some features may influence patients' intention to use this promising technology. Furthermore, this study made it clear how the free use of different health apps is modulated by the real needs of the patient and by their usefulness in the context of the patient's clinical status.

Assistive Solutions in Practice: Experiences from AAL Pilot Regions in Austria.

Since 2012 six AAL pilot regions were launched in Austria. The main goal of these pilot regions is to evaluate the impact of AAL technologies in daily use considering the entire value chain. Additionally, go-to market strategies for assistive technologies based on an involvement of all relevant stakeholders are developed. Within this paper an overview of the specific objectives, approaches and the status of all Austrian AAL pilot regions is given. Taking into account the different experiences of the different pilot regions, specific challenges in establishing, implementing and sustaining pilot region projects are discussed and lessons-learned are presented. Results show that a careful planning of all project phases taking into account available resources is crucial for the successful implementation of an AAL pilot region. In particular, this applies to all activities related to the active involvement of end-users.