Call for Participation

A growing recognition of the potential of assistive technologies for supporting older adults requires understanding aging and caregiving perspectives, as well as the cultural factors shaping older adults’ technological interactions. In this hybrid, one-day workshop, we invite researchers, students, and practitioners working at the intersection of technology and aging and/or having investigated caregiving perspectives for older adults to engage in discussions centered on the role that technological interventions—including, but not limited to AI systems—can play to support, empower, amplify, and scaffold caregiving for older adults. 

We invite interested participants to join us in one of the two ways:

(1) submit a position paper describing ongoing research, case studies or provocations engaging with workshop goals/themes described below
(4-5 pages, excluding references); or

(2) submit a statement of interest describing motivation to attend (400-600 words).

Position papers should follow the ACM Extended Abstract format ([Word][LaTeX][Overleaf]). For early career researchers and students not wishing to submit a position paper, we encourage you to join us by submitting a statement of interest describing your motivation to attend. In alignment with our goal of understanding caregiving challenges, we also welcome submissions that do not explicitly contain technological implementations but do explore barriers to providing care for older adults. Submissions will be accepted based on quality of submission, relevance to workshop goals, and the diversity of arguments that may contribute to productive discussions. Accepted position papers will be posted to arXiv and the workshop website. At least one author of each accepted submission must attend the workshop and all participants must register for the workshop.

Workshop Themes

We invite a wide range of submissions aligned with our workshop objectives, encouraging participants to share research ideas and engage in discussions including, but not limited to, the following themes and the interactions between these themes.

Please note that this list is not an exhaustive one, but is provided as inspiration for participants to orient their position papers and to help organizers in structuring workshop discussions. We encourage participants to refer to these themes as they capture the scope of our envisioned workshop.

Theme 1: Identifying challenges and barriers to caregiving for older adults. Caregiving often poses challenges to caregivers’ physical, mental, emotional, social, and financial well-being, including lack of social support, exhaustion, and limited financial resources, which can also affect their access to and use of technological interventions. We invite discussions on the evolving challenges caregivers face in supporting and coordinating care for their loved ones.

Theme 2: Supporting caregivers and care recipients as cognitive changes occur. As older adults experience cognitive changes like dementia, their daily routines and activities are significantly impacted. Spousal and sibling caregivers, often older adults themselves, manage their own aging concerns while supporting loved ones, creating a complex care network where cognitive changes occur on a spectrum for both the older adult receiving care and the caregiver. We invite discussions on longitudinal technological interventions that adapt to and learn from their changing cognitive abilities over time.

Theme 3: Navigating social roles and ethical and value differences among caregivers and care recipients. Caregiving for older adults involves diverse perspectives to technological implementation, requiring systems to consider the social roles between caregivers and build strategies to adapt to those. We invite discussions around incorporating these differences in social roles into technological design for consensus building, while centering the autonomy, safety, and privacy needs of older adults.

Theme 4: Bridging caregiving and healthcare in the home. Advancements in telehealth practices have brought healthcare outside the clinic, enabling remote clinical interactions. Technologies/services for caregiving and healthcare have been studied independently; however, now both happen concurrently at home, requiring emotional, privacy, safety, and regulatory considerations. We invite research focused on facilitating an integrated view of technology mediated caregiving and healthcare in the context of aging in place.

Theme 5: Understanding the role of community care resources in caregiving for older adults. Aging in place for older adults also includes provision of social and community interactions, requiring access to community resources such as public libraries, parks, community centers, and places of worship. However, mobility, transportation, and infrastructural challenges can limit access to these resources for older adults. We invite discussions on technological interventions that can support access to these resources, such as offering virtual alternatives, facilitating remote engagement, or digital platforms that help older adults stay connected to their communities.

Theme 6: Cultural norms and perspectives around aging and caregiving and its influence on use of technology. Caregiving practices for older adults, especially involving family, are shaped by societal and cultural views on aging, influencing approaches to conflict resolution, autonomy, and attitudes toward privacy. As a result, an older adult’s surrounding sociocultural context has the potential to shape their expectations and means for technology-enabled support. We will start discussions on the intersection of culture and aging, exploring how diverse cultural perspectives influence interactions with technology and ways of supporting those interactions effectively.

Theme 7: Participatory research practices involving older adults and caregivers. Traditional research methods often overlook unique age-related nuances, preferences, and communication styles, leading to outcomes that may not address the actual needs of older adults. Studies have shown that older adults face challenges in unconstrained brainstorming (blue sky ideation) for future technologies, and benefit from using design prototypes, or scenarios to provide context during co-design sessions. We invite discussions on research practices and tools that promote responsible participation with older adults and prioritize meaningful collaboration, such as community-embedded practices.

Workshop Organizers

For any questions, please reach out to the organizers at nmathur35@gatech.edu