SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2021
Older Adults' Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Physical Information and Communication Technology in the Era of Ambient Assisted Living: A Systematic Literature Review.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systematic Reviews of Psychosocial Interventions for Loneliness Among Older Adults in Community and Residential Care Settings: An Umbrella Review.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Pooled it
- The Associations Between Digital Exclusion and Physical or Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR aging · 2026Pooled it
- Benefits and barriers associated with the use of smart home health technologies in the care of older persons: a systematic review.BMC geriatrics · 2024Pooled it
- Examining associations of social disconnectedness change patterns with subsequent healthcare utilization and costs among public healthcare users in Central Singapore.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The Effects of Open-World and Fun, Accessible Games on Perceived Loneliness and Stoicism in Adults: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.JMIR serious games · 2026Article
- Efficacy of artificial agents in loneliness alleviation among older adults: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2026Article
- A Novel Pathway for Integrating Ethics into Digital Technology Design: A Person-Centred Co-Design Approach Developed in the Context of Assistive Technologies for Older Adults.Science and engineering ethics · 2026Article
- Development and User-Centered Evaluation of Smart Systems for Loneliness Monitoring in Older Adults: Mixed Methods Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Piloting home telepresence to support social connectedness among older adults in remote Irish communities.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- A randomized pilot study evaluating socially assistive robot effects on patient engagement and care quality.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Cross-sectional and longitudinal network analyses depict variations of symptom networks in depression patients across the lifespan: insight from a large-scale sample.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Understanding the Thoughts and Preferences for Technologies Designed to Detect Feelings of Loneliness: Interview Study Among Older Adults.JMIR human factors · 2025Article
- Digital exclusion and loneliness in older people: panel data analysis of three longitudinal cohort studies.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Prevalence and Determinants of Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults Across Europe: Evidence from SHARE Wave 9.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Lessons Learned From the Integration of Ambient Assisted Living Technologies in Older Adults' Care: Longitudinal Mixed Methods Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologies · 2025Article
- Caregiving Artificial Intelligence Chatbot for Older Adults and Their Preferences, Well-Being, and Social Connectivity: Mixed-Method Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- The Potential of a Robot Presence in Close Relationship to Influence Human Responses to Experimental Pain.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Digital Health Literacy Among Older Women Living Alone in South Korea During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Psychiatry investigation · 2025Article
- Exploring Older Adults' Perspectives on Digital Home Care Interventions and Home Modifications: Focus Group Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Qualitative exploration of the lived experiences of loneliness in later life to inform technology development.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLoneliness and social isolation can have severe effects on human health and well-being. Partial solutions to combat these circumstances in demographically aging societies have been sought from the field of information and communication technology (ICT).
objectiveThis systematic literature review investigates the research conducted on older adults' loneliness and social isolation, and physical ICTs, namely robots, wearables, and smart homes, in the era of ambient assisted living (AAL). The aim is to gain insight into how technology can help overcome loneliness and social isolation other than by fostering social communication with people and what the main open-ended challenges according to the reviewed studies are.
methodsThe data were collected from 7 bibliographic databases. A preliminary search resulted in 1271 entries that were screened based on predefined inclusion criteria. The characteristics of the selected studies were coded, and the results were summarized to answer our research questions.
resultsThe final data set consisted of 23 empirical studies. We found out that ICT solutions such as smart homes can help detect and predict loneliness and social isolation, and technologies such as robotic pets and some other social robots can help alleviate loneliness to some extent. The main open-ended challenges across studies relate to the need for more robust study samples and study designs. Further, the reviewed studies report technology- and topic-specific open-ended challenges.
conclusionsTechnology can help assess older adults' loneliness and social isolation, and alleviate loneliness without direct interaction with other people. The results are highly relevant in the COVID-19 era, where various social restrictions have been introduced all over the world, and the amount of research literature in this regard has increased recently.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.