Adapting Gerontechnological Development to Hospitalized Frail Older People: Implementation of the ALLEGRO Hospital-Based Geriatric Living Lab

Abstract

Gerontechnology aims at improving the functioning of older people and their carers in their daily lives as well as improving gerontological practices. To promote gerontechnology innovation in the hospital and bridge the gap between gerontechnology developers and hospitalized frail older patients, our objective was to create and implement a hospital-based geriatric living lab. We designed a hospital-based living lab, providing reflexive workshops bringing around the table gerontechnology users and developers, supplemented with an experimental hospital room receiving both the users and the devices to be tested. Three different types of users were distinguished: seriously ill older inpatients, professional hospital caregivers, and informal carers. Three different kinds of devices were also distinguished: prototypes under development, new services and/or care organizations, and new uses. Finally, we were able to open in 2018 the Angers Living Lab En GéRiatrie hOspitalière (ALLEGRO) hospital-based geriatric living lab. ALLEGRO offers the organization of "idea incubator workshops" for users and developers, together with one "experimental hospital room" equipped with validated devices to provide reference measures used as a standard to test the diagnostic efficacy of prototypes. The room is intended to accommodate one older inpatient with severe acute organic failures. No patient selection is planned at admission, apart from consent to research. Until now, no refusal to participate in a study was noted. In conclusion, we offer a new and unprecedented hospital-based geriatric living lab to improve hospital care for older inpatients and to promote successful aging through gerontechnology.

Keywords: Gerontechnology; hospital; innovation; living lab; older adults.