ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on a study comparing the quality of life of eight elderly people, women and men, with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses, before and after the installation of a new technology, a stair lift, in their house or apartment. From a societal perspective, technological policies that give assistive technologies a major role as one of the answers to the demographic pressure have become urgently needed. Assistive technologies enables people to be more active outdoors, saves them energy that they can spend on physical exercises, reduces the need for informal care, allows independence and enables people to live longer at home. Important issues are whether and how the stair lift enhances the quality of life and what effects it has on participation in social life, the need for formal and/or informal help and the possibility to be able to live longer at home.
