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The Best of Both Worlds: Combining Digital and Human AAL Advisory Services for Older Adults

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Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health (ICT4AWE 2018)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 982))

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Abstract

Technological developments in the last 20 years have been instrumental in service provision by offering new means of interaction among stakeholders in virtual environments. However, in most service sectors, the consumer journey is growing in complexity, which calls for a multifaceted service logic. While a number of ICT companies have been expanding their portfolio from an entirely virtual to additional physical experience, a seamless merger of both physical and virtual worlds in service provision may still be some way off. This applies to advisory services for Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) solutions, a recently opened market of great importance in the contemporary ageing society. In this position paper, we expand on the concepts of engagement platforms and engagement ecosystems to argue that an integration of physical and virtual worlds is necessary for AAL advisory services. We first determine the extent to which current service platforms are acting as ‘engagement platforms’ by presenting key insights from an analysis of platforms and services promoting AAL products for older adults. The focus lays on the stakeholder involvement, the interaction and feedback features. Second, we identify the key features that a platform must have to qualify as an engagement platform. Third, the debate delves deeper on how to integrate both virtual and physical dimensions in an optimal solution for stakeholders’ engagement. Finally, we present the concept of an ‘Authorized Active Advisor’ as a solution of utmost relevance in this field due to preferences evidenced by older age groups and to insufficiencies exposed in most service platforms, such as lack of personalization and interaction features.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the co-financing by the European Commission AAL Joint Programme and the related national agencies in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. One of the authors (Soraia Teles) is also individually supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science And Technology (FCT; D/BD/135496/2018; Phd Program in Clinical and Health Services Research (PDICSS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research and Development Department, SYNYO GmbH, Otto-Bauer-Gasse 5/14, 1060, Vienna, Austria

    Diotima Bertel, Flora Strohmeier & Stefan H. Ruscher

  2. Department of Behavioral Sciences, Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal

    Soraia Teles & Constança Paúl

  3. Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), University of Porto, Rua Dr. Plácido Da Costa, 4200-450, Porto, Portugal

    Soraia Teles, Pedro Vieira-Marques & Constança Paúl

  4. Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Grüental, 8820, Wädenswil, Zurich, Switzerland

    Paul Schmitter & Andrea Ch. Kofler

Authors
  1. Diotima Bertel
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  2. Soraia Teles
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  3. Flora Strohmeier
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  4. Pedro Vieira-Marques
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  5. Paul Schmitter
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  6. Stefan H. Ruscher
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  7. Constança Paúl
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  8. Andrea Ch. Kofler
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Correspondence to Diotima Bertel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Panagiotis D. Bamidis

  2. Institut für Psychologie, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Martina Ziefle

  3. Wrocław University of Economics, Institute of Business Informatics, Wrocław, Poland

    Leszek A. Maciaszek

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Bertel, D. et al. (2019). The Best of Both Worlds: Combining Digital and Human AAL Advisory Services for Older Adults. In: Bamidis, P., Ziefle, M., Maciaszek, L. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health. ICT4AWE 2018. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 982. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15736-4_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15736-4_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-15735-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-15736-4

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