Daryoush Daniel Vaziri

Exploring user experience and technology acceptance for a fall prevention system: results from a randomized clinical trial and a living lab

BackgroundFalls are common in older adults and can result in serious injuries. Due to demographic changes, falls and related healthcare costs are likely to increase over the next years. Participation and motivation of older adults in fall prevention measures remain a challenge. The iStoppFalls project developed an information and communication technology (ICT)-based system for older adults to use at home in order to reduce common fall risk factors such as impaired balance and muscle weakness. The system aims at increasing older adults’ motivation to participate in ICT-based fall prevention measures. This article reports on usability, user-experience and user-acceptance aspects affecting the use of the iStoppFalls system by older adults.MethodsIn the course of a 16-week international multicenter study, 153 community-dwelling older adults aged 65+ participated in the iStoppFalls randomized controlled trial, of which half used the system in their home to exercise and assess their risk of falling. During the study, 60 participants completed questionnaires regarding the usability, user experience and user acceptance of the iStoppFalls system. Usability was measured with the System Usability Scale (SUS). For user experience the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) was applied. User acceptance was assessed with the Dynamic Acceptance Model for the Re-evaluation of Technologies (DART). To collect more detailed data on usability, user experience and user acceptance, additional qualitative interviews and observations were conducted with participants.ResultsParticipants evaluated the usability of the system with an overall score of 62 (Standard Deviation, SD 15.58) out of 100, which suggests good usability. Most users enjoyed the iStoppFalls games and assessments, as shown by the overall PACES score of 31 (SD 8.03). With a score of 0.87 (SD 0.26), user acceptance results showed that participants accepted the iStoppFalls system for use in their own home. Interview data suggested that certain factors such as motivation, complexity or graphical design were different for gender and age.ConclusionsThe results suggest that the iStoppFalls system has good usability, user experience and user acceptance. It will be important to take these along with factors such as motivation, gender and age into consideration when designing and further developing ICT-based fall prevention systems.

ICT-Based Fall Prevention System for Older Adults: Qualitative Results from a Long-Term Field Study

Falls and their consequences are arguably most important events for transition from independent living to institutional care for older adults. Information and communication technology (ICT)-based support of fall prevention and fall risk assessment under the control of the user has a tremendous potential to, over time, prevent falls and reduce associated harm and costs. Our research uses participative design and a persuasive health approach to allow for seamless integration of an ICT-based fall prevention system into older adults’ everyday life. Based on a 6-month field study with 12 participants, we present qualitative results regarding the system use and provide insights into attitudes and practices of older adults concerning fall prevention and ICT-supported self-management of health. Our study demonstrates how it can lead to positive aspects of embodiment and health literacy through continuous monitoring of personal results, improved technical confidence, and quality of life. Implications are provided for designing similar systems.

Analysis of effects and usage indicators for a ICT-based fall prevention system in community dwelling older adults

Falls are a serious problem in aging societies. A sedentary life style and low levels of physical activity are major factors aggravating older adults’ fall risk. Information and communication technology (ICT)-based fall prevention interventions are a promising approach to counteract the fall risk of this target group. For some time now, fall prevention interventions have put emphasize to video game based solutions, as video games have become more popular and accepted among older adults. Studies show that such ICT-based fall prevention interventions significantly reduce fall risk in older adults. Nevertheless, the population of older adults is fairly heterogeneous, and factors like gender, age, fitness, sociability, and so on may influence the use of such systems. Therefore, the analysis of subgroups is a common procedure to investigate the affects of various factors on the effectiveness of ICT-based systems. Many of these studies analyze the effectiveness of the system with quantitative measures only. However, the effectiveness of ICT-based fall prevention systems always depends on the sustainable system use by the target group. Qualitative analyses is generally the prime selection to identify determining usage indicators for system usage. Therefore, it seems likely that combined quantitative and qualitative investigations will generate detailed information about system effectiveness and relevant usage indicators for respective target groups. Here, we analyze the ICT-based fall prevention system, iStoppFalls, incorporating exergames and a mobility monitor as well, targeting three aims, (1) is the system effective for different subgroups of older adults, (2) what are the factors influencing fall risk reduction in older adults using the system and are there combined effects of exergaming and activity monitoring on fall risk reduction, and (3) which usage indicators explain the usage of such a system by older adults. This paper will provide a better understanding of the effectiveness of ICT-based fall prevention for different subgroups and the indicators that determine the use of such technologies by older adults.

Exploring the Potential of Exergames to affect the Social and Daily Life of People with Dementia and their Caregivers

This paper presents the outcomes of an exploratory field study that examined the social impact of an ICT-based suite of exergames for people with dementia and their caregivers. Qualitative data was collected over a period of 8 months, during which time we studied the daily life of 14 people with dementia and their informal and professional caregivers. We focus on the experiential aspects of the system and examine its social impact when integrated into the daily routines of both people with dementia themselves and their professional and family caregivers. Our findings indicate that relatives were able to regain leisure time, whilst people with dementia were able to recapture certain aspects of their social and daily activities that might otherwise have been lost to them. Results suggest that the system enhanced social-interaction, invigorated relationships, and improved the empowerment of people with dementia and their caregivers to face daily challenges.

Video-game based Exergames for People with Dementia and Their Caregivers

Dementia not only affects the cognitive capabilities, especially memory and orientation, but also physical capabilities, which are associated with a decrease of physical activities. Here, ICT can play a major role to improve health, quality of life and wellbeing in older adults suffering from dementia and related stakeholders, such as relatives, professional and informal caregivers. The aim of the presented system is to increase physical and cognitive capabilities of people with dementia and their caregivers to support them in daily life activities, reduce the strain of the caregivers and improve both their wellbeing.

MobiAssist - ICT-based Training System for People with Dementia and Their Caregivers: Results from a Field Study

As a result of ageing societies, the prevalence of dementia, and accordingly the need of care is increasing rapidly. Here, the use of ICT-based technologies may facilitate and promote a self-sustaining life-style for people with dementia and their caregivers. The presented poster describes early findings from the project MobiAssist and outlines the ICT-based training system. The system aims to increase the physical and cognitive capabilities of people with dementia, relief the caregivers and improve wellbeing of involved parties.

Negotiating Contradictions: Engaging Disparate Stakeholder Demands in Designing for Active and Healthy Aging

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the complexity and diversity of primary and secondary stakeholder perspectives in the context of health and technology use for active and healthy ageing. Our exploratory interview study will show disparate and similar perspectives of older adults and a range of professional secondary stakeholders like doctors, health insurance agencies or caregivers. We negotiated contradictive perspectives and pointed at crucial challenges for the design of active healthy ageing (AHA) technologies for relevant actors within the healthcare system. Fifteen interviews with older adults and X secondary stakeholders were conducted. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and coded using content analysis procedure. In total, four major themes emerged for stakeholder similarities and contradictions, which include perspectives on active and healthy ageing, motivation for prevention, perceived benefits and drawbacks of AHA technologies and concerns with respect to data privacy, control and trust. The insights into and negotiation of stakeholder perspectives have the potential to improve the design of AHA technologies that facilitate their integration into older adults daily lives and thus create opportunities for long-term use.

Prototype Design for an Integrative Health Platform to Support Active and Healthy Ageing in Older Adults

In this paper, we provide a case study of an integrative health platform for older adults, based on participatory, or co-design, principles. We illustrate the diversity and complexity of older adults’ perspectives in the context of health and technology use, the challenges which follow on for the design of appropriate technologies for active and healthy ageing (AHA) support and our approach to addressing these challenges through a participatory design (PD) process. Interviews were conducted with older adults aged 65+ in a two month study with the goal of understanding perspectives on health and technologies for AHA support. We identified challenges and designed a high-fidelity prototype for the integrative health platform “MY-AHA”. Finally, we evaluated the prototype with the target group. For researchers in this field, the structured documentation of our procedures and results, as well as the implications derived provide valuable insights for the design of integrative health platforms and AHA technologies in general for older adults.

Akzeptanz von innovativen Gesundheitstechnologien bei älteren Menschen – Ergebnisse einer empirischen Analyse

Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit der Akzeptanz von Gesundheitstechnologien in der Bevolkerung alterer Menschen. In diesem Kontext wurden qualitative und quantitative Daten bei Teilnehmern eines EU-geforderten Forschungsprojektes erhoben, die uber einen Zeitraum von 24 Wochen einen Aktivitatsmonitor eingesetzt haben. Wahrend die qualitativen Daten einen detaillierten Einblick in Praktiken und Einstellungen der Zielgruppe hinsichtlich der Nutzung solcher Technologien schaffen sollten, wurde mithilfe quantitativer Messungen das Akzeptanzverhalten alterer Menschen im Hinblick auf den Aktivitatsmonitor beschrieben. Die Kombination qualitativer und quantitativer Ergebnisse zeigt, dass Gesundheitstechnologien wie Aktivitatsmonitore grundsatzlich auf Interesse bei der alteren Bevolkerung stosen, allerdings Merkmale wie das Design, die Bedienung sowie der Nutzen solcher Gerate masgeblich zur Akzeptanz beitragen und diese Merkmale wahrend Design- und Entwicklungsphasen priorisiert werden sollten.

Improving Human Cognitive Processing by Applying Accessibility Standards for Information and Communication Technology

This article concerns with human-computer-interaction (HCI) from a neuroscientific perspective. The motivation for this perspective is the demographic transition, which shifts population structures of industrial nations. The authors will explain consequences of the demographic transition in terms of HCI and establish a hypothesis for these research activities. To evaluate this hypothesis the authors develop an approach, which combines different disciplines. This approach examines the effects of IT-accessibility on human cognitive processing. Therefore, required methodologies and instruments will be explained, discussed and selected. Possible effects of IT-accessibility on human cognitive processing will be illustrated with an acknowledged cognition model. The result of this article will be a concept, which enables the measurement of IT-accessibility impacts on human cognitive processing.