Bridging the Socio-Technical Gap: A 2024–2025 Review of Integrated IoT Solutions for Geriatric Care

Global demographic transitions toward older population structures are placing unprecedented pressure on healthcare systems, long-term care infrastructures, and community support services. As the prevalence of chronic disease, multimorbidity, and functional decline rises among aging populations, healthcare systems are increasingly exploring digital health technologies capable of enabling continuous monitoring and home-based care. The Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a critical technological paradigm for supporting aging in place through interconnected wearable devices, environmental sensors, and cloud-based analytics capable of monitoring physiological status and daily activities in real time. Despite significant advances in sensing technologies, artificial intelligence, and smart home infrastructures, the large-scale adoption of IoT-enabled geriatric care remains limited. A key barrier lies in the persistent socio-technical gap between technological capability and real-world healthcare integration. This review synthesizes peer-reviewed research published between 2024 and 2025 examining integrated IoT solutions for geriatric care, focusing on three interconnected dimensions: clinical applications in health monitoring and chronic disease management, human factors influencing acceptance and adoption among older adults and caregivers, and systemic challenges related to interoperability, privacy, and data governance. The review highlights emerging evidence demonstrating that IoT systems can improve early detection of health deterioration, support medication adherence, reduce hospitalizations, and enhance independence among older adults. However, successful implementation requires addressing ethical considerations, usability barriers, and fragmented digital health infrastructures. By integrating recent findings across healthcare, computer science, and public health research, this paper proposes a socio-technical framework for scalable IoT-enabled geriatric care and identifies future research priorities necessary for achieving sustainable and equitable digital health ecosystems.