The role of biometric identification on the quality of life of older adults

Abstract

The use of biometric identification technology has become increasingly prevalent in modern society, with potential benefits for various populations. However, despite the widespread adoption of biometric identification, there is still a significant gap in research on the benefits that older adults may derive from this technology and how it may improve their quality of life. This study draws on a mixed methodology and the flow theory to understand how biometric identification improves the quality of life of older adults. The findings show that older adults obtain socio-economic impacts, social inclusion, improved access to healthcare and access to information that serves their health, psychological, emotional and mental needs through the use of biometric identification. Drawing on artificial neural network, we ranked the derived benefits and used partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to investigate how these benefits translate to the quality of life of older adults. The results showed that the most significant biometric factor that promotes the quality of life of older adults is improved healthcare access, followed by information access and socio-economic development. The PLS-SEM results show that social inclusion is essential but does not improve the quality of life of older adults. The findings of this study offer valuable information for policy-makers, technology developers and practitioners working to improve the lives of older adults.