A new app being developed for older adults could help tackle the growing need to make sure technology is helping underserved communities.
The app, which developers named Ami, is designed for people living with dementia and features touch-screen games in six different languages and dialects.
A prototype of Ami will be downloaded onto 1,000 IM-OK devices for older adults in Singapore, courtesy of the social service agency Lions Befrienders.
Not only is Ami designed to cater to speakers of different languages, but the ability to learn or practice multilingualism on the app can also keep seniors’ cognitive skills sharper, said the developers at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
Older adults with cognitive disabilities showed improvement in their verbal skills when using Ami over the course of a recent six-month study, the developers stated, adding they hope to make the app more broadly available in the near future.
In the United States, the need for healthcare services and technologies that don’t discriminate against any one group has become part of the national discussion on care for older adults.
It has been noted over the past year that some new tech, particularly artificial intelligence, has the potential to exacerbate demographic biases if not designed correctly.
As of 2020, there were 4.7 million Hispanic older adults living in the United States, accounting for approximately 9% of the US senior population overall, according to a report by the federal Administration for Community Living, of which the Administration on Aging is a part.
President Biden cited the need for new healthcare technology to reach underserved communities during a meeting last month with his Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Much of the discussion at the federal level about reaching rural or underserved communities, however, has focused on telehealth and telemedicine rather than tech aimed at a specific demographic.
