By 2050, the proportion of the world’s population that is over 60 will nearly double from 12% to 22%,
representing nearly 2 billion older people worldwide. In response, the United Nations declared 2021–2030 to
be the Decade of Healthy Aging, aiming to improve the lives of older people. Thus, Long-Term Post-Acute Care
(LTPAC) systems that provide care for older adults are a significant global area of interest. Our definition of
LTPAC providers include home care and hospice, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes. LTPAC systems
are essential because 70% of older adults will require long term care services during their life. As the world’s
population gets older, many challenges exist for providing safe, higher quality care for older adults at the
individual, institutional and community levels. One international strategy for improving quality of care in the
world’s LTPAC systems is the efficient and competent use of health information technology. To stimulate
research to address existing gaps, we will convene an International Summit on Innovation and Technology in
Care of Older People (IS-ITCOP) June 6-7, 2024. The purpose of this research development conference
grant is to convene national and international LTPAC experts to guide research development, co-design
research strategies, and methods for evaluating technology in LTPAC. Our specific aims: Specific Aim 1:
Identify emerging and established technology used in LTPAC. Specific Aim 2: Describe the barriers and
facilitators affecting technology adoption in LTPAC. Specific Aim 3: Examine how barriers in technology
adoption can influence disparities among patients in LTPAC. Specific Aim 4: Create a research agenda to
identify ways that governments, professional organizations, etc. can remove barriers and promote facilitators
for technology adoption, and thus lessen disparities in LTPAC. Our aims will be accomplished in a two-day
conference held at Columbia University School of Nursing in New York, NY and led by internationally
recognized health services researchers and policy influencers studying technology in LTPAC (Chair: Dr.
Gregory L. Alexander PhD, RN, Co-Chair: Ms. Anne Livingstone). An international community of 35
policymakers, administrators, clinicians, researchers, and leaders will be invited. The interdisciplinary
organizing committee will convene keynote speakers, lead discussions, identify and confirm speakers.
Keynotes and lead discussants will stimulate roundtable discourse in four critical areas identified by
international LTPAC experts regarding technology use, including 1) Emerging Models of Care, 2) Workforce of
the Future, 3) Transparency and Accountability in Quality, and 4) Security and Privacy. A product of the
conference will be a scholarly manuscript outlining a research agenda to advance scholarship in LTPAC
settings internationally. To evaluate the conference’s success, summative and formative evaluations will be
completed during and after the conference by both presenters, sponsors, and attendees. The evidence will
inform steps to optimally use and remove barriers for technology use in LTPAC settings.
