PhD conferral ms. Friederike J.S. Thilo, MSc.

Key words: ageing, nursing, community, technology acceptance, innovation, user Involvement

“Ageing in place safely; Lessons learnt from a multi-perspective immersion into the use and non-use of Personal Safety Alerting Devices”

Solutions designed to support safe ageing in place are Personal Safety Alerting Devices (PSADs) which can provide rapid assistance after a fall. Unfortunately, older persons are still reluctant to use PSADs. This PhD thesis revealed that the use of a PSAD in daily life of older persons is a complex decision-making process involving the perception of its necessity, which is interwoven with an individual’s ageing, his or her self-perception and the meaning attributed to the device. Informed decision-making requires an iterative and time-intensive negotiation process. This process predominantly involves interaction between older persons, their relatives and community nurses. Nurses and General Practitioners should increase their awareness regarding relevant technology needs and possibilities, to optimize the support of older persons and their relatives with PSAD use, when ageing in place.