Factors Influencing Ageing Population for Adopting Ambient Assisted Living Technologies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The era of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has changed the world of the ageing population. Elderly people do not wish to live as they did in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Instead, their desire is to live independently in their own home and continue to practice all activities. However, the cost of taking care of elderly people is a challenge for both the present and in the future. Indeed, the number of elderly people in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is increasing rapidly from 5 % to 20.9 % by 2050. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technology is advocated to improve the quality of life, provide the elderly with services and technologies that support them in their daily activities, help them to live longer and independently in their homes. The aims of this paper are to explore the barriers and challenges of AAL by identifying the barriers that restrict the adoption of these technologies in KSA and to provide a quantitative analysis based on the results of a survey. The results show that there are many factors that influence the adoption and use of AAL technologies by elderly Saudi Arabians and provide an insight for solutions to support them in independent living.