Frequently asked Questions (FAQ)

Do I have a personal benefit?
You will experience new digital technologies that no one in Germany has experienced in this form before. You will learn how to use a tablet and the Internet. It is possible that you will improve your digital skills as a result.
With your participation, you make an important contribution to researching the possibilities and limits of apps for older people.

Will I receive compensation for participating in the study ?
You will not receive any financial compensation for participating in the study. However, if you participate fully in the study, you will receive the tablet required for the study, worth around €200, free of charge.

With which effort is the participation in the study connected?
From the time of inclusion in the study as a study partner, the total duration is approx. 1 year. By participating in the study, you will incur a time commitment of approximately 18 hours (plus the time for using the apps, whereby you decide how intensively you want to use the apps).
As part of the study, you will receive several home visits from our study staff, which means that they will enter your home. All study staff members are bound by confidentiality. If you do not want to answer any questions, you can of course leave them out.

What data is collected and what happens with it?
To conduct the study, we need names, address, contact details and demographic data (such as marital status, education, family circumstances, health, income, housing situation), as well as data on social participation, environment, technology acceptance, physical function, your physical activity behavior (sensor measurement) and performance, psychological data (e.g. mental ability tests).
You can, of course, omit questions that you do not wish to answer.
Usage (e.g., frequency and duration of use) of the SMART-AGE apps used in the study will be recorded. This is done automatically (but in pseudonymized form) without you having to provide any information.
Evaluating the results of your use of the SMART-AGE apps helps us to further improve them so that they can later be easy to use and helpful for as many older people as possible.

We will keep everything you share with us strictly confidential. Your information will be recorded and evaluated in pseudonymous form, i.e. without your name. A direct reference to your person is impossible, i.e. your privacy remains completely protected.

Voluntariness and withdrawal options
Participation in the study is of course voluntary. You can cancel the study at any time without giving reasons and withdraw your consent without incurring any disadvantages or costs. If you withdraw from the study, personal data that has already been obtained can be destroyed if you so request. However, if you agree, your data will continue to be analyzed after you have withdrawn from the study. Data from analyses that have already been carried out or if the data have already been anonymized can no longer be deleted.