The role of sex and gender in the adoption of assistive technology in dementia care

Purpose: Women are disproportionately affected by dementia on several levels (Derreberry & Holroyd, 2019). At the same time, assistive technology (AT) is expected to alleviate the growing burden of dementia (Gathercole et al., 2021). Notably, the overall use of technology in older populations is affected by individual characteristics such as gender (Chen & Chan, 2014). Furthermore, neglecting sex and gender as an influential factor in dementia care may interfere with progression regarding the detection, treatment, and management of dementia (Nebel et al., 2018). Hence, there is an urgent need to comprehend the role of sex and gender regarding adoption of AT in dementia care in order provide AT tailored to needs of end-users in dementia care.

Method: We conducted a scoping review following the framework of Arksey and O’Malley. Before running the search we consulted with the client council of the university network for elderly care of the University Medical Center Groningen to ensure the alignment of our search strategy with the interests of the dementia care triad. We searched three databases (PubMed, Web of Science, IEEE) and the grey literature (Google Scholar). The included studies were analyzed with thematic inductive analysis to identify emerging topics.

Results and Discussion: Fifteen studies were included. Thematic inductive analysis revealed eight topics of sex and gender analysis (compatibility, attitude, usage, acceptance, access, usefulness, well-being, long-term effectiveness), which were all closely linked to AT adoption. Except for usage and long-term effectiveness, all topics exposed sex and gender differences which depended on either type of AT or study. In addition, the relevance of generation, culture, mental health and gender of technology was outlined in relation to sex and gender in the context of AT adoption in dementia care and beyond. Because the majority of studies provided no specifications of the underlying reasons for sex and gender differences, their practical implications remain largely uncertain.