Tablet-Based Well-Being Check for the Elderly: Development and Evaluation of Usability and Acceptability

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Assistive Technology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Digital Health and Well-being

Background:

• Elderly individuals increasingly prefer independent living, raising concerns about their safety and well-being among family members.
• Existing assistive technologies often face low adoption rates due to intrusiveness, privacy issues, social stigma, and reduced human interaction.
• This research addresses the need for non-intrusive solutions that support independent living while maintaining social connections for seniors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To iteratively design, implement, and assess a tablet-based system for monitoring the well-being of the elderly.
• To evaluate the usability, user-friendliness, and acceptability of the developed assistive technology.
• To explore how technology can facilitate subtle monitoring and social connection for independent seniors.

Main Methods:

• A three-stage methodology was employed: initial system development, contextual assessment, and comparative case study evaluation.
• Requirements were gathered from elderly users during the initial prototype design phase.
• Contextual assessment identified areas for improvement, including privacy features and suggested additional monitoring functionalities.

Main Results:

• The iterative design process led to a well-being check prototype incorporating user-feedback and privacy considerations.
• Suggested features included medication prompts and food reminders to aid subtle monitoring by caregivers and reduce costs.
• A comparative study revealed varying levels of technology familiarity among elderly users in India and Australia, highlighting the crucial role of family support in technology adoption.

Conclusions:

• A digital photo frame prototype was successfully tested, demonstrating its potential to leverage social communication for elderly well-being.
• The 'Silvercare' model was tested, utilizing local retired individuals to support the elderly.
• An agile, three-stage design methodology for developing IT solutions for the elderly was formalized and contributed to the EU Project Victoryahome.