Abilities to Use Technological Communication Tools in Aging: Contribution of a Structured Performance-Based Evaluation.

New technologies remain little used by the elderly and their impact is not sufficiently evaluated. Our research aims to evaluate the potential benefits associated to the use of communication tools and specifically with digital applications on touch pad. The present research compared the ability to use a fixed or mobile phone and a touchpad, by 25 young adults and 25 older people, living in the community and without neurological or psychiatric history. Compared to younger adults, aging people produce more commission errors and need more assistance to correct themselves, especially for the most recent technologies. The data appear to validate a hierarchical assistance model to help aging people using technological communication tools. They should be better assisted in a strategic way, using reinsurance and specific cueing. The results also indicate that the combination of a specific observation grid for standardized daily living tasks is especially sensitive to evaluate autonomy loss in aging.