Clearly many caregivers are missing out on useful technology. According to the new AARP Caregiving in the US report, utilization of useful technologies, detailed in a brief report attached here, that could help with care of either children or older adults is below 50% other than smart home tech. Maybe that is the smart doorbell? Smart TV? --which is just about all you can buy. Only 10% of caregivers say they own home health safety devices, which probably include a pendant with fall detection or an in-home fall detection device. If these caregivers are living with the older adult, perhaps that makes sense. If not, perhaps they do not know what they don’t know. Only a third say they use smart home technology (for lighting? Temperature control? Other?).
The larger report does a great job of identifying and segmenting the caregiver. Right down to the specifics of the care relationship, the ethnicity of the care recipients, age of both caregiver and care recipients, use of paid help, what type of home they live in and with whom they are living. The percentages in nursing homes and assisted living were very low (under 5% for all types). It’s hard to know if this is correlated with selection criteria for the survey, or the definition of caregiver as perceived by the responder to the survey questions.
Technology questions in the next survey need a greater degree of device granularity. Vague terminology is not helpful. In other words, if the responder says they use mobility tech – ask what kind? Wheelchair? Walker? And what is ‘caregiver tech’? Or a location detector? Is that a smart watch? A PERS device? What is a home assistance service (home care)? And if they use any of these tools or services, how did they go about finding them? Low percentages of use may indicate lack of awareness, more likely, than lack of access to technology. Thirty percent of those caring for an older adult indicate that Alzheimer’s or memory impairment is the primary care issue. What tech matters to them? How did they find it?
Even without greater clarity, this survey is a messaging opportunity for tech firms. We have reached a point where we know there are 59 million caregivers of adults aged 18 and up – many of the care recipients are elderly. Many have mobility limitations and many have memory loss. Marketers can use the data as a pivot point for marketing campaigns to reach the non-users of technology – which in most cases represent the majority of responders. Lack of awareness could be blamed in 2015 and 2020 for why caregivers are not using technology. In 2025, lack of marketing messages designed to reach caregivers may be the biggest issue – and as mastered by the ‘I’ve Fallen and I can’t Get Up’ market messaging, the message matters, must be very clear and needs to be placed where the caregivers are.
