Barriers to Online Dementia Information and Mitigation

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
• Health Informatics
• Accessibility Research

Background:

• Growing need for accessible online health information across diverse populations.
• Limited understanding of specific barriers faced by people with dementia in accessing online health information.
• Existing platforms may not adequately address the needs of neurodiverse users.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify barriers to accessing accurate and relevant online health information for individuals with mild to moderate dementia.
• To explore mitigation strategies employed by people with dementia to overcome these barriers.
• To inform HCI research and platform design for improved information accessibility and credibility for neurodiverse populations.

Main Methods:

• Conducted sixteen semi-structured interviews with people experiencing mild to moderate dementia.
• Employed observational sessions to understand user interactions with online health information.
• Qualitative analysis of interview and observation data to identify themes.

Main Results:

• Uncovered four distinct barriers encountered by people with dementia when accessing online health information.
• Identified corresponding mitigation strategies actively used by participants.
• Findings highlight the need for user-centered design in health information platforms.

Conclusions:

• HCI researchers can leverage these findings to develop new technical approaches and standards for information accessibility and credibility.
• Emphasizes the importance of considering neurodiverse populations in the design of digital health tools.
• Advocates for broader HCI research into the accessibility and credibility of online information for individuals with age-related cognitive impairment.