
Technologies to Support Aging-in-Place
Technologies to Support Aging-in-Place
The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technologies to Support Aging-in-Place for People with Long-Term Disabilities (RERC TechSAge) is a collaborative grant center based at Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Georgia State University. Founded in 2013, TechSAge features multidisciplinary research, development, and training projects that are dedicated to understanding the needs of, and developing supportive technologies for, people aging with long-term vision, hearing, and mobility disabilities.

TechSAge State of the Science Conference
TechSAge hosted its second State of the Science Conference May 4-5, 2022 at the Illini Center in Chicago, IL. This two-day hybrid event highlighted research advances and priorities in technologies to support people aging with disability. Sessions focused on our four areas of research: Support Safety and Independence in Everyday Home Activities; Maintain Health and Wellness; Enhance Connectivity and Community Mobility; and Facilitate Caregiving. Recorded sessions now available!

Featured Article
Guidelines for Delivering Group Exercise Programs via Videoconferencing
Many older adults, and particularly those with disabilities, experience barriers to participating in group exercise classes in-person, including limited transportation and inaccessible classes and facilities. Telewellness programs, which are delivered remotely via technology such as Zoom, hold great potential to support physical activity and social connectedness among older adults at home. However, there is limited guidance on how to design and execute telewellness classes to promote safety, technical support, and social engagement among participants. A new TechSAge publication in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health presents research-driven guidelines for delivering group exercise programs via videoconferencing to older adults. Guidelines were informed by a human factors approach to developing a Tele Tai Chi intervention for older adults with mobility disabilities, including a literature review, user needs research, and a feasibility study. Read the full article.
Latest Publications

Staff Spotlight: Alyssa Stanfield
Alyssa Stanfield is the Assistant Director for the Center on Health, Aging, and Disability (CHAD) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Along with this role, Alyssa also supports research in the College of Applied Health Sciences and serves as the Operations Manager of the McKechnie Family LIFE Home and Coordinator for Collaborations in Health, Aging, Research, and Technology (CHART). Alyssa coordinates a variety of efforts for TechSAge at Illinois, from technical support, to event planning, to outreach. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Community Health Promotion from Illinois State University. In Alyssa’s free time, she enjoys hiking with her husband, spending time with family, and trying new, local restaurants.

Become a Research Participant!
We maintain a registry of names of people who are interested in being contacted about research studies. Opportunities include: surveys, focus groups, interviews, and technology evaluations. Depending on the study, you may be able to participate on the phone, online, on campus, at your home, or in other locations.
Interested in joining? We need to ask a you a few questions about yourself to see which studies you might be eligible for and match your interests with our researchers. Complete the brief survey (5-10 minutes) online here:
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TechSAge research is funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number #90REGE0006-01-00 ).
NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).