Willingness of older adults to share data and privacy concerns after exposure to unobtrusive home monitoring

L. Boise, K. Wild, N. Mattek, M. Ruhl, H.H. Dodge, J. Kaye. Willingness of older adults to share data and privacy concerns after exposure to unobtrusive in-home monitoring. Gerontechnology 2013;11(3):428-435; doi:10.4017/gt.2013.11.3.001.00. Older adult participants in the Intelligent Systems for Assessment of Aging Changes study (ISAAC) carried out by the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology (ORCATECH) were surveyed regarding their attitudes about unobtrusive home monitoring and computer use at baseline and after one year (n=119). The survey was partof a longitudinal study using in-home sensor technology to detect cognitive changes and other health problems. Our primary objective was to measure willingness to share health or activity data with one's doctor or family members and concerns about privacy or security of monitoring over one year of study participation. Differences in attitudes of participants with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) compared to those with normal cognition were also examined. A high proportion (over 72%) of participants reported acceptance of in-home and computer monitoring and willingness to have data shared with their doctor or family members. However, a majority (60%) reported concerns related to privacy or security; these concerns increased after one year of participation. Few differences between participants with MCI and those with normal cognition were identified. Findings suggest that involvement in this unobtrusive in-home monitoring study may have raised awareness about the potential privacy risks of technology. Still, results show high acceptance, stable over time, of sharing information from monitoring systems with family members and doctors. Our findingshave important implications for the deployment of technologies amongolder adults in research studies as well as in the general community.