Medical Technology in Smart Homes: Exploring the User's Perspective on Privacy, Intimacy and Trust

This paper reports on a study exploring the attitudes of users towards video-based monitoring systems for long-term care of elderly or disabled people in smart home environments. The focus of the study was on investigating the willingness of users to accept medical technology in their homes and the specific conditions under which continuous monitoring would be acceptable. Using the questionnaire method, a total of 165 users (17-95 years) were examined regarding privacy, intimacy and trust issues for medical technology in homes. The results highlight trust and privacy as central requirements, especially when implemented within private spaces. The reported concerns were mostly insensitive to gender and age. Overall, it was revealed that acceptance issues and users' needs and wants should be seriously considered in order to successfully design new medical technologies.