Designing Wearables for Older Adults

Wearable healthcare technologies are explored as tools that may support older adults through monitoring, communication, and teleassistance functions. The successful implementation of these systems within real care environments depends on factors extending considerably beyond device functionality. This article presents a qualitative, implementation-oriented design research study grounded in the pilot deployment of a smartwatch-based care-support system in a Turkish residential care home, complemented by observations from Portuguese care homes and senior-living facilities and community-based deployments of the same system in Spain. Rather than evaluating the smartwatch as an isolated technological product, the study examines the broader challenges that emerged during field implementation: mediated user research, caregiver involvement, workflow integration, technical reliability, wearability, institutional trust, and the persistent gap between intended and actual use. The findings suggest that wearable care technologies for older adults operate within care ecosystems involving nurses, caregivers, infrastructures, organizational routines, family expectations, and users with varying levels of physical and cognitive ability. The article argues that, particularly in contexts involving care dependence, the relationships between older adults and those involved in their care should be treated as a central consideration in the design of wearable care technologies. The article contributes both empirical findings and a methodological argument for context-sensitive design that accounts for institutional realities and everyday care practices alongside technical functionality.