The purpose of this study is to examine India, which is experiencing the most rapid aging rate in human history. It is projected that the population of individuals aged over 60 years will double between 2022 and 2050. In this paper, the authors discuss the way in which digital gerontechnology, encompassing telemedicine, wearable health monitoring devices, smart-home ecosystems and technology-wise assisted living, is perceived as being of aid to elderly individuals resides in India, as well as the numerous systemic and psychosocial barriers that must be addressed in order for elderly people to start using gerontechnology effectively.
A qualitative documentary research was carried out which included the summative content analysis and the Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis, and was applied to a purposefully collected corpus of national demographic surveys, policy reports, official government communications and peer-reviewed research publications. The single interpretative framework used in this regard was the capability opportunity motivation behaviour (COM-B) model which helped in identifying the behaviour determining factors leading to digital adoption among older individuals.
Digital solutions such as the eSanjeevani platform and wearable technologies enable better access to and independence in healthcare. However, implementation remains limited because of the “grey digital divide” which includes issues related to user capability (low levels of digital literacy and sensory decline), opportunity (high device cost, absence of connectivity in remote areas and gender-based access issues) and motivation.
The corpus belongs to the second order and reflects the framing interests of the producers, with a single-site empirical study as its only strong India-specific evidence.
Digital literacy, affordability, connectivity and family support should be considered components of intervention rather than preconditions that are outside of it.
In the absence of gender-sensitive, regional-language and person-centred design, the development of digital eldercare would merely perpetuate the very inequalities it is meant to address.
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper presents the first thematic synthesis of literature on gerontechnology which is organized according to the COM-B model and includes the documentary evidence from India. This allows to link macro-demographic trends with the relevant behavioural framework.
