Gerontology is all the rage in the modern health fields, and that means that it is also a new beneficiary of the attention of technological advancement. Simultaneously, there has also been a recent tidal change in favor of improving geriatric mental health. One of the most popular geriatric health research articles of this year was a collaborative effort on the part of a dozen PhD-level researchers that focused on the use of digital technology for the maintenance of mental health in our senior years.

In late May this year, “A Future Research Agenda for Digital Geriatric Mental Healthcare” was published, calling for “the proliferation of mobile, online, and remote monitoring” technologies geared toward geriatric consumers. The advantage of such technologies is that it reaches out simultaneously to a large number of people without relying on a mental health clinics. The goal is to provide electronic alternatives for administering mental health exercises beneficial to preserving memory and clarity of thought.

Along with further study and a methodological approach to keeping mental health efforts in line with advancements in technology, the study also calls for research and implementations to make electronic mental health apps and services more appealing and relatable to seniors. The study found that an age-related reluctance to interact with electronic devices was one of the leading hindrances to the success of such efforts.

Although academic and scientific study can sometimes seem far-removed from our homes and individual long-term care facilities, the call to action this study provided and the attention that it garnered are undoubtedly a boon to everyone dealing with geriatric mental health. For now, we’ll simply use the best mental health approaches available to us until the next generation of treatments and exercises trickles down into practical measures.