Digital Assistive Technology as a Path Towards Successful Aging In The Baltic Sea Region

The Baltic Sea region is experiencing a major societal challenge due to an aging population, and digital assistive technology is acknowledged as a path towards successful aging. This empirical study offers insight on successful aging from the digital assistive perspective and, in particular, contributes to the understanding of technology providers’ opportunities and barriers as well as the age-specific needs and expectations of senior citizens. Given the nature of the research questions, the study employed a qualitative approach, and a multiple case study was conducted in six Baltic Sea region countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Denmark, and Finland. It also contributes to the discussion of the need for a more holistic view of the phenomenon of successful aging by proposing to incorporate the concept of assistive technology into its conceptual framework.