Fostering Artificial Intelligence-based supports for informal caregivers: a systematic review of the literature

Informal or unpaid caregivers, commonly known as family caregivers, are responsible for providing the 80% of long-term care in Europe, which constitutes a significant portion of health and social care services offered to elderly or disabled individuals. However, the demand for informal care among the elderly is expected to outnumber available supply by 2060. The increasing decline in the caregiver-to-patient ratio is expected to lead to a substantial expansion in the integration of intelligent assistance within general care. The aim of this systematic review was to thoroughly investigate the most recent advancements in AI-enabled technologies, as well as those encompassed within the broader category of assistive technology (AT), which are designed with the primary or secondary goal to assist informal carers. The review sought to identify the specific needs that these technologies fulfill in the caregiver’s activities related to the care of older individuals, the identification of caregivers’ needs domains that are currently neglected by the existing AI-supporting technologies and ATs, as well as shedding light on the informal caregiver groups that are primarily targeted by those currently available. Three databases (Scopus, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Libraries) were searched. The search yielded 1002 articles, with 24 articles that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Our results showed that AI-powered technologies significantly facilitate ambient assisted living (AAL) applications, wherein the integration of home sensors serves to improve remote monitoring for informal caregivers. Additionally, AI solutions contribute to improve care coordination between formal and informal caregivers, that could lead to advanced telehealth assistance. However, limited research on assistive technologies like robots and mHealth apps suggests further exploration. Future AI-based solutions and assistive technologies (ATs) may benefit from a more targeted approach to appeasing specific user groups based on their informal care type. Potential areas for future research also include the integration of novel methodological approaches to improve the screening process of conventional systematic reviews through the automation of tasks using AI-powered technologies based on active learning approach.