Amanda Lazar

A Critical Lens on Dementia and Design in HCI

Designing new technologies with and for individuals with dementia is a growing topic of interest within HCI. Yet, predominant societal views contribute to the positioning of individuals with dementia as deficient and declining, and treat technology as filling a gap left by impairment. We present the perspective of critical dementia as a way of reflecting on these views in the context of recent epistemological shifts in HCI. In addition to articulating how HCI can leverage the perspective of critical dementia, we present a case analysis of technology design in art therapy involving people with dementia aimed at challenging conventional narratives. This paper calls attention to and helps solidify an agenda for how the CHI community approaches dementia, design, and technology.

Rethinking the Design of Robotic Pets for Older Adults

Robots are seen as a potential solution to the perceived needs of the aging population. Thus far, research has primarily focused on robotics for the functional and emotional support of older adults. Robotic pets have been developed primarily for the older adult who is perceived as lonely and isolated, and fears have consequently arisen that robots will replace human caregivers and deceive older adults into developing relationships with them. Missing is the perspective of older adults on the ethics of and potential uses for robotic companion pets. In this study, we conducted focus groups with 41 older adults. We discuss concepts raised by focus group participants such as giving into the fiction of the robotic pet, the social role of the robot, and the role of reciprocity in building a relationship with a robotic pet. We present resulting considerations for new directions for robotic pet design for older adults.

Going Gray, Failure to Hire, and the Ick Factor: Analyzing How Older Bloggers Talk about Ageism

Ageism is a pervasive, and often invisible, form of discrimination. Though it can affect people of all ages, older adults in particular face age-related stereotypes and bias in their everyday lives. In this paper, we describe the ways in which older bloggers articulate a collective narrative on ageism as it appears in their lives, develop a community with anti-ageist interests, and discuss strategies to navigate and change societal views and institutions. Bloggers criticize stereotypical notions that focus exclusively on losses that occur with age and advocate a view that takes into account the complexity and positive aspects of older adulthood. This paper contributes a unique case of online collective action among older adults while drawing on their online discourse as a way of understanding what ageism means for CSCW.

Supporting People with Dementia in Digital Social Sharing

Sharing online is an important way in which people across the lifespan express themselves, maintain relationships, and connect with others. Yet, people with dementia are often not supported in engaging to the full extent of their abilities, particularly in their interaction with online technology. This paper presents a design case study that examines what it means to design for agency in online sharing involving individuals with dementia. Our work is situated in the context of art therapy for adults with dementia. We present the design and exploration of Moments, a system that allows individuals to share through artwork by manipulating their physical environment. We discuss how designing for agency calls attention to the ways in which the material workspace, including the tools we introduce, and the surrounding social context participate in the creation of agency.

Successful Leisure in Independent Living Communities: Understanding Older Adults' Motivations to Engage in Leisure Activities

Leisure activities are a source of meaning and enjoyment for individuals across the lifespan. In this study, we conducted interviews with twenty-four older adults living in four different independent living communities. We present societal and ecological factors and motivations that influenced the way people participated in and decided what constitutes leisure activities. The goal of maintaining physical and cognitive health was often intertwined with motivations to engage in leisure activities. We discuss how this fits into the broader framework of successful aging and implications for technology design. We also provide an example of how findings from this study can be applied to a specific leisure activity: watching television.

Making as Expression: Informing Design with People with Complex Communication Needs through Art Therapy

There is a growing emphasis on designing with people with diverse health experiences rather than designing for them. Yet, collaborative design becomes difficult when working with individuals with health conditions (e.g., stroke, cancer, abuse, depression) that affect their ability or willingness to engage alongside researchers and verbally express themselves. The present paper analyzes how the clinical practice of art therapy engages these individuals in co-creative, visual expression of ideas, thoughts, and experiences. Drawing on interviews with 22 art therapists and over two years of field work in a clinical setting, we detail how art therapists view making as expression for people with complex communication needs. Under this view, we argue that art therapy practice can inspire collaborative design engagements by understanding materials as language, creating space for expression, and sustaining expressions in a broader context. We discuss practical and ethical implications for design work involving individuals with complex communication needs.

Design Recommendations for Recreational Systems Involving Older Adults Living With Dementia

As the population ages, an increasing number of people will be diagnosed with dementia. Studies have found that insufficient activities are offered in memory care units to people with dementia, even though people benefit tremendously from participating in recreational activities. Information and communication technologies (ICT) can potentially facilitate activities in this setting, yet there is little guidance for designers to develop systems that can support people with dementia in engaging in recreational activities. To fill this gap, recommendations were generated through fieldwork and refined in two rounds of expert feedback. Areas covered include hardware, content, applications, and navigation. Systems should be usable by people with dementia, in addition to staff, to counter disempowerment by not enabling people to use their full abilities. In addition, a diversity of materials is needed to appeal to individuals with dementia who have widely varying backgrounds, abilities, interests, and preferences.

HCIxDementia Workshop: Engaging People Living with Dementia

Increasingly, HCI researchers are recognizing the challenges and opportunities of designing with and for people living with dementia. Recent critiques have highlighted the limited ways people with dementia are engaged in the research and design process. The second CHI HCIxDementia workshop will focus on engagement with and by people living with dementia. Through interactions with local community organizations and people living with dementia, workshop attendees will explore design possibilities. Building on open questions from the CHI 2017 workshop, this workshop will address how HCI researchers can support people living with dementia in engaging as leaders and with research, industry, and the community.

Co-design in health: what can we learn from art therapy?

This forum is dedicated to personal health in all its many facets: decision making, goal setting, celebration, discovery, reflection, and coordination, among others. We look at innovations in interactive technologies and how they help address current critical healthcare challenges. ---Yunan Chen, Editor

Diet and Activity Assessments and Interventions Using Technology in Older Adults

This paper reports on the findings and recommendations specific to older adults from the “Tech Summit: Innovative Tools for Assessing Diet and Physical Activity for Health Promotion” forum organized by the North American branch of the International Life Sciences Institute. The summit aimed to investigate current and emerging challenges related to improving energy balance behavior assessment and intervention via technology. The current manuscript focuses on how novel technologies are applied in older adult populations and enumerated the barriers and facilitators to using technology within this population. Given the multiple applications for technology in this population, including the ability to monitor health events and behaviors in real time, technology presents an innovative method to aid with the changes associated with aging. Although older adults are often perceived as lacking interest in and ability to adopt technologies, recent studies show they are comfortable adopting technology and user uptake is high with proper training and guided facilitation. Finally, the conclusions suggest recommendations for future research, including the need for larger trials with clinical outcomes and more research using end-user design that includes older adults as technology partners who are part of the design process.