A LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston fellow is working to address a longstanding issue in technology tool development—the importance of involving older adults in technology design. Francesca B. Falzarano, PhD, assistant professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California’s (USC) Leonard Davis School of Gerontology (pictured, at right), has taken on the challenge by recruiting family caregivers to test CarePair. This dementia caregiver support app uses artificial intelligence (AI) to offer caregivers a self-assessment, then connects them with relevant supports.

“Many caregiving-focused technologies continue to emerge, yet adoption remains low,” says Falzarano. “One reason is that tools are often developed without meaningful user input, resulting in products that are difficult to use or poorly aligned with caregivers’ actual needs.”

Results from earlier phases of the CarePair project confirmed that many caregivers lack basic knowledge of available services, are unsure how to find this information, and experience overload when faced with large volumes of irrelevant or inaccessible content online (Falzarano et al., 2025). During CarePair’s development, family caregivers and subject-matter experts served as co-designers of the application, providing essential feedback that shaped its design, content, and features.

Additional LeadingAge Contributions

The latest LeadingAge CAST Commission meeting, held last November in conjunction with the LeadingAge Annual Meeting, focused on the challenge of developing appropriate technologies for older adults. Keynote speaker Luke Yoquinto, research associate at Boston’s MIT AgeLab, said that people who design and develop products for older adults are often from a younger demographic, which may lead to products that are ineffective for their intended audience.

Yoquinto set the context for today’s challenges by providing a lookback at historical perspectives of older adults, noting that themes painting older adults as needy (defined by poor health and poverty), speedy (moving into old age suddenly at age 65), and greedy (enjoying their savings, vacations, and well-appointed retirement homes) drive today’s views.

To close the gap, the MIT AgeLab constantly fields surveys with older adults and elevates effective innovation hubs, through a monthly series with the Boston Globe and the book Longevity Hubs: Regional Innovation for Global Aging, which highlights aging innovations in 10 cities worldwide.

In addition, over the years, LeadingAge members have partnered with university research teams to pilot robots and AI companions.

How You Can Help

Falzarano’s team is looking for caregivers of community-residing people with dementia to participate in the study. Participants must live in Los Angeles, the New York City region, or Seattle. If you know someone who might be interested, please refer them. Learn more about participating.