JOURNAL ARTICLE · EDITORIAL BRIEF
Renegotiating autonomy and safety: disentangling tensions emerging for older adults living with smart monitoring systems
Laura Detels; Mingsong Zhai; Zhao Cai; Manuel Trenz
npj Health Systems · 8 October 2026
The finding or development
Participants described avoiding devices, changing routines to prevent alerts, or acting to reassure caregivers. Monitoring intended to support independence could also constrain everyday choices.
What supports it
Qualitative longitudinal journal study: 21 older adults followed for over a year, with four interview phases.
Reviewed: Abstract and publication metadata on PubMed and indexed publisher record; full text could not be retrieved.
Why it matters for design
Ask whose needs an alert serves and whether residents can challenge or adjust monitoring. These are editorial design questions, not tested remedies.
Read with this in mind
Abstract-only review: sampling, setting and analytic detail were not appraised. A small qualitative study cannot establish prevalence or causal effects on safety; the authors declare no competing interests.
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DOI: 10.1038/s44401-026-00154-4
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