Views of family carers and older people of information technology

This article is the second in a series of four describing recent developments in Sweden aimed at promoting partnerships between older people, their families and formal service providers. The last article (Vol 11(11): 759-63) described the development of an information and communication technology (ICT) project ACTION -- Assisting Carers using Telematics Interventions to meet Older persons' Needs -- and focused on the use of CT to help family carers to be more prepared for their caregiving role. This article focuses on the concept of usability within the ACTION project and the importance of working closely with participants in order to create an information and communication service that is both acceptable and of direct benefit to family members in their everyday caring situations. Nielsen's (1993) Model of Usability is described within the overall context of the project and is used as a framework for the cycle of development and testing that underpin ACTION. A variety of research methods are highlighted, with a central theme being that of user involvement, with particular reference to the USERfit approach (Poulson et al, 1996). The education and training of older people and their family carers to use the ACTION technology is outlined and examples are given of the empowering effects of the use of the service and its user-driven focus. Recommendations for the further technical development of ACTION are firmly based on the comments and suggestions provided by older people and the family carers themselves.