Karemet
← Resource library

A dignity-first technology checklist

Questions to ask before placing any resident-facing technology in a care community.

6 minute checklist

Accessibility is necessary, but dignity requires more. Use these questions to evaluate whether a product respects adult identity, resident agency, clinical boundaries, and the realities of a busy care environment.

Resident agency

A resident should understand what the technology does, what information it keeps, and how to stop, correct, or change the experience.

  • Can a resident decline without losing basic access?
  • Can they inspect and correct what the product remembers?
  • Are consent and sharing controls understandable without staff interpretation?

Adult visual and verbal design

Large type and simple navigation should not become childish illustration, exaggerated praise, or patronizing language.

  • Does the experience still feel appropriate for an accomplished adult?
  • Are important actions readable and at least 44 pixels high?
  • Can someone recover from a mistake without blame or confusion?

Care-team fit

A new dashboard is only useful if it makes the next decision clearer. Evaluate what work the product removes, what it adds, and what happens when nobody is watching it.

  • Who owns each alert or request?
  • What happens during staffing changes or downtime?
  • Does the product surface concise insight or simply create more data?

Privacy and boundaries

Resident-facing AI should not become ambient surveillance or a substitute for clinical judgment, emergency response, or human relationship.

  • Is recording disclosed and actively consented to?
  • Can staff see summaries without routine transcript surveillance?
  • Are real and synthetic environments fully separated?