Improving the smart care service system for older adults: an emotional experience evaluation framework in the Chinese...

Given the rapid growth of the older population, an emotional experience evaluation system is proposed to quantitatively analyze the emotional experiences of older adults within the smart care service system in the current Chinese community settings.

The study is informed by the Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) emotion theory and guided by service design thinking. Qualitative research methods were employed to gather information about older adults within the target community. By mapping service scenario interaction touchpoints, the research team deconstructed, clustered, and transformed the system service touchpoints. Evaluation indicators were set from three aspects: smart devices, online software, and offline services, to construct an emotional experience evaluation system. Using quantitative research methods, with user emotional valence as the variable, the study conducted measurement experiments on the emotional experience evaluation of older users, obtaining measurement results from two dimensions: emotional experience tendencies and emotional requirement assessment.

We organized the results of emotional experience evaluation data, analyzed the indicator data of each part of the system through visual analysis graphics, and proposed improvement strategies for the three structures of the smart care service system.

Care for older adults is facing multifaceted challenges, our research results have obtained the emotional tendencies of older adults toward each indicator of the system. In addition, we have obtained the judgment results of emotional demand for each indicator, analyzed the reasons from both emotional and demand dimensions, proposed service strategies to improve the system, and facilitated the implementation of a circular economy model in community care services for older adults.