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Purpose The ENHANCE Center represents a consortium of three institutions (Weill Cornell Medicine, Florida State University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). The focus of ENHANCE is on developing novel technology solutions to help older adults living with cognitive impairments live independently. The target populations of the ENHANCE Center are older adults living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), older adults living with cognitive impairments due to traumatic brain injury (TBI), and older adults living with cognitive impairments due to stroke (PSCI). Technology solutions developed by ENHANCE aim to support transportation and mobility needs, socialization and cognitive engagement, and prospective memory functioning. Method The ENHANCE team of investigators and key members includes experts in human factors engineering, gerontology, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, psychology, applied health sciences, communication disorders, biostatistics, computer science, and artificial intelligence. A multidisciplinary perspective is crucial to the development of useful and usable gerontechnology for older adults living with cognitive impairments. Gerontechnology design involves an iterative, user-centered design process, including feedback from older adults, care partners, and community and industry stakeholders at all stages of development. Multiple large and small-scale needs assessment studies provide valuable information regarding challenges older adults with cognitive impairments face in their everyday lives and potential technology-based solutions. In addition to traditional academic dissemination routes (e.g., conferences, journal publications), a diverse External Advisory Board facilitates bidirectional communication among researchers and community and industry partners to ensure relevant needs are being addressed and findings reach outside of the laboratory/academic setting. Evolving technology transfer plans aim to maximize the chances for developed technologies to have real world impact. Finally, webinars are another method of dissemination, including to technology designers, and student design competitions help to engage and train the next generation of gerontechnologists. Results and Discussion The work of the ENHANCE Center aims to improve the lives and community engagement of older adults with cognitive impairments and the developed infrastructure of the Center aims to ensure that findings reach those for whom they would be most useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) was founded in 1999 and is a multi-disciplinary, multi-site Center that is supported by the National Institutes of Health. The focus of CREATE is on aging adults and their interactions with technology systems. The overarching goal of CREATE is to harness the potential benefits and power of technology to maintain, support, and foster the cognitive, emotional, and physical health of aging adults to enhance independence, well-being, and quality of life. Method The aims of CREATE are to conduct research aimed at developing, implementing, and evaluating technology-based solutions that support successful and productive aging; provide interdisciplinary training and research opportunities to students and junior scientists; and broadly disseminate the findings, protocols, and tools of CREATE. To achieve these aims CREATE has a research program that includes individual and cross-site projects (Weill Cornell Medicine; Florida State University, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign) and a pilot research program; Administrative, Data and Technical Development, and Dissemination Cores and Community, Scientific and Industry Advisory Boards. The conceptual framework for CREATE is based on a transactional model of person-technology interactions which recognizes the importance of individual differences, the influence of context (physical and social) on performance, and that human-technology interactions are dynamic and changes over time. CREATE's research approach is guided by a combined Human Factors Engineering and Cognitive Psychology approach with a focus on user-centered design. The user-centered design process is a fundamental component of our research projects. Our cross-site structure enables us to examine issues surrounding aging and technology with diverse populations in diverse contexts. It also enables us to expand our scientific and technical resources and to broaden our dissemination footprint. Results and Discussion CREATE has developed a comprehensive data base on aging and technology; examined issues of aging and technology across a range of tasks, technologies, and populations; promoted new areas of research; trained new investigators; and broadly disseminated our findings and tools nationally and internationally to researchers, policy makers, service providers, and aging adults. Our research portfolio encompasses attitudinal issues, issues related to technology adoption and acceptance, input and interface design, training and instructional support, and technology applications in living, work, leisure, and healthcare settings. The research projects explore innovative uses of existing technologies and support the development of new technology tools and are designed to make contributions to science and yield practical outcomes with direct impacts for older adults and families. Importantly, our book Designing for Older Adults (part of the Human Factors and Aging Series), jointly authored by the CREATE Principal Investigators, is now in its third edition and we also co-authored a compendium Case Studies companion book. CREATE also has established strong community and industry partnerships, that are essential to our research, training, and dissemination programs. Overall, CREATE strives to develop, implement, and evaluate technology-based lines of research, interventions, and programs, to support health and wellbeing; ensure that technology applications achieve full potential, and are accessible, useful to, and usable by diverse populations of aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]