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Exploring Potential of Voice Assistants to Support Wellbeing in Later Life

(SOARWell-AiP: Sociotechnical observation and assessment research into wellbeing and aging in place)

The SOARWell project is exploring how voice assistants (e.g., Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa) may enhance the wellbeing and independence of older adults and help them to age in place.These technologies can enhance engagement in leisure (e.g. music, games), daily activities and tasks (e.g. setting reminders, searching the internet for information), and social participation.

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A photo of multiple smart speakers and displays with built-in voice assistants, including Google Home, Google Nest Hub, Google Mini, Amazon Echo Dot and Echo Dot Max in focus.

  • Although many older adults are already trying out these technologies, they often limit or abandon these over time.

  • Little research to date has explored why this is the case and whether and how this is related to interactions between older adults and these technologies over time.

  • Understanding older adults’ experiences with voice assistants over time is needed to inform strategies and tools to enhance their meaningful use of these technologies to support wellbeing and aging in place.

Our Research Objectives

01
To examine how older adults co-adapt with voice assistants over time and how this affects their well-being, aging in place, and related influencing factors.

02
To analyze changes in older adults’ use of voice assistants over time, the impact that coadaptation has on their use and well-being, and other factors that influence use behaviours and intentions.

03
To co-design, with older adults, an information tool and recommendations that promote sustained use of voice assistants for well-being, support aging in place, and address their unique needs and preferences.

The three objectives will be achieved via three interconnected phases

  • Use interviews and surveys to explore with a group of older adults their experiences and impacts of learning to use a voice assistant on a commercially available smart speaker over 6 months.

  • Conduct a large-scale survey to understand the use and impacts of different types of voice assistants on older adults and process of coadaptation over time. 

  • Co-design with older adults resources to enhance use of voice assistant to support wellbeing and aging in place and develop recommendations for customizing and improving these technologies.

A screenshot of the title page of a downloadable PDF that contains tips on how to use a Google Nest Hub.

Click on the picture above to open a PDF copy of this document.

Want to join our Research Study?

Recruitment for Phase 1 is now closed, but if you are still interested in participating in this research, please email us by clicking the link below.

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A screenshot of a SOARWell conference poster that is available as a downloadable PDF.

Research Overview

A brief overview of the research we have conducted so far is available for download.

To view this poster as a PDF, click on the image to download a copy.

Published Resources

Kokorelias KM, Grigorovich A, Harris MT, Rehman U, Ritchie L, Levy AM, Denecke K, McMurray J. Longitudinal Coadaptation of Older Adults With Wearables and Voice-Activated Virtual Assistants: Scoping Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2024 Aug 7;26:e57258.

Kokorelias KM, Grigorovich A, Harris MT, Rehman U, Ritchie L, Levy A, Denecke K, McMurray J. Coadaptation between smart technologies and older adults over time: protocol for a scoping review. JMIR Research Protocols. 2023 Oct 9;12(1):e51129.

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Meet the Team

  • A headshot of Alisa Grigorovich, the primary investigator of the dynamic aging lab. Alisa is a White woman with short grey hair, and is wearing a black blazer and glasses, smiling at the camera.

    Dr. Alisa Grigorovich

    Principal Investigator‍ ‍ Brock University

  • A headshot of Josephine McMurray, the co-principal director for the project. Josephine is a White woman with short blonde hair and glasses, and she is smiling directly at the camera.

    Dr. Josephine McMurray

    Co–Principal Investigator ‍ ‍Wilfrid Laurier University

  • A headshot of Maurita Harris, a co-investigator for the project. Maurita is a Black woman with black natural curly hair, wearing a sleeveless yellow floral top, and smiling at the camera.

    Dr. Maurita Harris

    Co-Investigator. Wilfrid Laurier University

  • A headshot of Kristina Kokorelias, a co-investigator for the project. Kristina is a woman with long blonde hair, wearing a black blazer and smiling at the camera.

    Dr. Kristina Kokorelias

    Co-Investigator‍ ‍National Institute on Ageing

  • A headshot of Umair Rehman, a co-investigator for the project. Umair is a man with short black hair and a beard, wearing a white button-up shirt, and looking at the camera.

    Dr. Umair Rehman

    Co-Investigator‍ ‍ Western University

  • A photo of AnneMarie Levy, a project coordinator for the project. AnneMarie is a White woman with blonde hair and is slightly smiling at the camera.

    Dr. AnneMarie Levy

    Project Coordinator‍ ‍ Wilfrid Laurier University

  • A headshot of Kelsey Harvey, a collaborator for the project. Kelsey is a White woman with long brown hair and glasses, and is smiling at the camera.

    Dr. Kelsy Ervin

    Project Coordinator Brock University

  • A headshot of Madison Badger, a graduate research assistant. Madison is a White woman with long, straight blonde hair, and she is smiling directly at the camera.

    Madison Badger

    Research Assistant ‍ ‍Brock University

  • A headshot of Mya George, a graduate research assistant for the project. Mya is a White woman with long, wavy brown hair, wearing a brown patterned blazer, and slightly smirking at the camera.

    Mya George

    Research Assistant Brock University

  • A headshot of Kelsey Harvey, a collaborator for the project. Kelsey is a White woman with long brown hair and glasses, and is smiling at the camera.

    Dr. Kelsey Harvey

    Collaborator‍ ‍ Cape Breton University

  • A headshot of Olive Bryanton, a collaborator for the project. Olive is an older White woman with shoulder-length, wavy white hair, wearing glasses and is smiling at the camera.

    Dr. Olive Bryanton

    Collaborator University of Prince Edward Island

  • A photo of Barbara Marshall, a collaborator for the project. Barbara is a woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and glasses, and is smiling at the camera.

    Dr. Barbara Marshall

    Collaborator‍ ‍ Trent University

  • A headshot of Kim Parker, a collaborator for the project. Kim is a woman with long, straight brown hair and is smiling at the camera.

    Kim Parker

    Collaborator‍ ‍ Nova Scotia Rehabilitation & Arthritis Centre

  • A headshot of Kirsten Denecke, a collaborator for the project. Kirsten is a woman with short brown hair and glasses, and is smiling at the camera.

    Dr. Kirstin Denecke

    Collaborator Bern University of Applied Health Sciences

  • A headshot of Samir Sinha, a collaborator for the project. He is a man with short black hair, wearing a lab coat and looking straight at the camera.

    Dr. Samir Sinha

    Collaborator National Institute on Ageing

  • A headshot of Bryan Smale, a collaborator for the project. He is a man with short white hair and glasses, and is looking forward at the camera.

    Dr. Bryan Smale

    Collaborator University of Waterloo

  • A headshot of Ron Beleno, a collaborator for the project. He is an Asian man with short black hair, wearing a blue button-up shirt, and smiling directly at the camera.

    Ron Beleno

    Collaborator
    AGE-WELL NCE

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