Facilitating the adoption of digital technologies by the elderly

This study examined the major criteria needed to facilitate the adoption of a technology that aims to support elderly autonomy. A User Centered Design process was instigated to design a digital tablet-based application. The two first stages consisted of a literature review and two focus groups that aimed respectively: to specify interaction principles, and to define the needs and expectations of the elderly and collect their feedback on the application's usability. The results show that to be accepted the technology has to provide relevant and useful information on nearby services, aids and social activities. It also has to facilitate the controlled sharing of information and the communication with close family/relations, and residential home and external services to both empower the elderly and counter loneliness. A summative evaluation will be organised after taking into account the current guidelines to further validate the usability of the application with elderly people.