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A study of the acceptability of smart homes to the future elderly in China

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Abstract

Smart homes provide the elderly with effective solutions in their own location. This research makes subtle adjustments to the ESHTAM through semi-structured interviews and a literature review and then obtains dimensions and questions for the questionnaire design on that basis. With the aid of quantitative questionnaires (185 pieces) and semi-structured interviews (12 persons), this paper discusses the acceptability of smart homes among the future elderly in China by considering them from the viewpoint of their users and by applying the ESHTAM and hypothesis verification. Using Wilcoxon’s signed rank test, Pearson correlation and the statistical methods of linear regression analysis, this work carries out data analysis. In terms of model application and assumptions, a significant positive correlation was found between Behavioral Intention and factors like Attitude to Use, Perceived Usefulness, Enjoyment, Satisfaction, Subjective Norms, and Compatibility. Moreover, there is a significant positive correlation between Attitude to Use and factors like Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Security/Privacy, Education Degree, Income, and Familiarity with Smart Homes. There is a significant positive correlation between Attitude to Use and factors like Perceived Ease of Use, Self-Capability, Automation, and Universal Connectivity. There is a negative correlation between Affordability (price) and Behavioral Intention. There is also a negative correlation between Age and Attitude to Use, which means that it is feasible to apply the ESHTAM to the discussion on the acceptability of smart homes in the future among the elderly in China, with the difference available in the results obtained from the dimensions of Security/Privacy. With regard to the acceptability, the results show that the average scores and medians obtained from 9 out of the 13 dimensions are greater than 3, which shows that the elderly in China have a positive and open attitude toward smart homes in the future. The average scores obtained from the other 3 dimensions approach 3, and the median is equal to 3, which reflects their worries about the use of smart homes at present. The results obtained from the semi-structured interviews effectively confirm this result.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Mengmeng Wang for his helpful conversations and constructive comments during the writing process.

Funding

This study was supported by a special research program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan, “The Research and Development of Healthcare Furniture for the Welfare Lives of Seniors,” Program number: 110WFAA310294 This research was funded by Project supported by the Research Foundation of Education Bureau of Hunan Province, China (Grant No.21B0651).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Doctoral Program in Design, College of Design, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, 10608, Taiwan

    Fangui Zeng

  2. Academy of Design & Art, Hunan Institute of Engineering, Xiangtan, 411104, China

    Fangui Zeng

  3. Department of Industrial Design, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, 10608, Taiwan

    Tien-Li Chen

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Zeng, F., Chen, TL. A study of the acceptability of smart homes to the future elderly in China. Univ Access Inf Soc 22, 1007–1025 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-022-00871-1

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