Population aging is changing how people obtain care, manage money, use public services, and remain connected to others. These activities increasingly depend on digital systems. For older adults, these systems can widen access and support independence. They can also create barriers when interfaces are difficult to navigate, system decisions are unclear, help is unavailable, or personal and financial information is not secure. Participation in digital services therefore depends on how systems are designed, implemented and governed, as well as on individual skills and willingness to use them.
Research on gerontechnology has examined usability, health technologies and technology adoption. These concerns are often considered separately from digital finance, public-service access and the wider organization of information systems. This special issue brings these questions together. It examines how the features and limits of digital systems affect trust, autonomy, safety and participation in later life. It also considers the social and organizational arrangements through which systems are used, including family or proxy use, data governance and connections between services.
The issue invites empirical, conceptual, and design science research at the intersection of information systems, gerontology, behavioral science, and public policy. We welcome studies of AI-enabled services, digital finance, healthcare, public services, and community or platform systems. Contributions may examine how older adults use and resist technology, how assistance is organized, how trust and safety are sustained, and how organizations and policymakers can make digital services more inclusive. We particularly welcome research that makes the role of information technology central to the analysis and addresses diverse cultural, institutional, or geographic settings.
The special issue connects gerontechnology with information systems research on inclusive design, responsible AI and the governance of digital services. Its focus is on the conditions that digital systems create for participation in later life.
List of topic areas
- How older adults use, adapt to, resist, and seek help with digital systems, including family-mediated and proxy use
- How accessibility and inclusive design shape meaningful and independent participation in healthcare, financial, public-service, and community technologies
- How trust and safety are established when systems handle personal data, authentication, security, financial safety, online fraud, and service errors
- How AI-enabled services and human-AI interaction can support autonomy while raising questions about conversational assistance, explainability, and accountability
- How organizations implement and connect digital services across sectors, including the role of interoperability, field-based interventions, design science, and policy for inclusive gerontechnology
Submissions information
Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/itp Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see: https://www.emerald.com/journals/author-guidance/1627/emerald-publishing-author-guidelines Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to “Please select the issue you are submitting to”. Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.
Journal Information: Scopus Journal Q1, H-Index 92
Key deadlines
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 31/01/2027
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