Sara Czaja

Older adults and technology adoption

Access to computers and the Internet is a major public policy concern as technology has become a significant aspect of economic, social and health equity. Recent data suggest that although computer and Internet use is lower among older, as compared to younger adults access is increasing among older people. This paper examines changes in use of computers and the Internet over time (2000–2002 and 2006–2007) among two samples (N=424) of older adults ranging in age from 50–85 yrs. Data are also reported on changes in attitudes towards computers and how adoption is influenced by attitudes and demographic characteristics. Technology adoption and attitudes towards computers were assessed via questionnaire. Over time, although there was no difference in percentage of participants who had computer experience, both breadth of computer use and Internet use increased. Participants from the more recent time point also reported more comfort with computers. The data also indicated that age, education, and comfort with computers predicted breadth of computer and Internet use. Understanding factors that influence access is important to the development of strategies to close the gap between adopters and non-adopters.

The Influence of Age and Experience on the Performance of a Data Entry Task

Findings from research examining age and computer task performance indicate that older people perform less well than younger people on these types of tasks. The present study examined whether age-related performance differences are maintained with task experience. To address this issue one hundred and ten subjects, ranging in age from 20—75 yrs., performed a data entry task over a three day period. The task represented a simulation of a real world job. The data indicated significant age differences in work output (amount of data entered). Further, although there were significant improvements in performance with increased task experience across subjects, age group differences were maintained over time. With respect to errors there were no age effects and there was a significant reduction in errors across the three days. However, the pattern of change varied across age groups. These results are consistent with other studies which suggest that experience does not compensate for age effects for tasks which emphasize speed of processing.

Age and Perceptions of Usability on Telephone Menu Systems

The objectives of this study were to determine if older adults encounter difficulty using real-world telephone menu system applications and to gather data on the usability features of these systems. Six real-world telephone menu systems, which varied in complexity and function, were examined. The sample included 32 community dwelling adults ranging in age from 18–80 years. Participants interacted with the menu systems to perform a sample set of tasks. They were also asked to rate the usability features of the system in terms of their goodness and their relative importance. The data indicated that in addition to taking longer, the older adults tended to have more difficulty performing the tasks. The findings also indicated that memorability was an important usability feature, and that the ratings of overall usability and overall satisfaction were significantly worse for the older adults.

Effects of Age and Experience on Mental Workload for Computer Tasks

This study examined the influence of age and experience on mental workload for three computer tasks. Three hundred and forty-five subjects, ranging in age from 20yrs.–75yrs., performed one of three computer tasks over a three day period. The tasks included: data entry, database inquiry, and accounts balancing. The data indicated significant main effects of days and task and significant task x days and age x days interactions. Overall, ratings of workload decreased with experience on the task and the participants perceived higher workload for the accounts balancing task as compared to the other two tasks. The effects of experience varied across the three tasks and according to age. Ratings of workload decreased over time for the database inquiry and accounts balancing tasks; there was no change for the data entry task. With respect to age, the data indicated that ratings of workload declined with experience for the younger and middle-aged participants but not for the older subjects.

Older Adults, Information Technology, and Behavioral Health Care

Emerging information technologies are likely to have a significant impact on behavioral health care for the older adult. These technologies will provide improved access to information about mental health problems and their treatments. These improved information flows will allow for enhanced access to treatment services, and may even create new modes of service delivery for older patients. Current research shows that many older adults are interested in and willing to use information technologies, thus demonstrating the potential impact of information technologies in behavioral health care. Difficulties may arise, however, because problems with interface design and information architecture can create barriers to elderly patients’ use of these technologies.

Is Speech Recognition Technology Robust for Older Populations

The primary objectives of this study were to investigate the robustness of current speech recognition software for older people and to gather data on the acceptability of this technology for this population. The sample included twenty-four adults from two age groups: young (20 - 29 yrs.) and older (66 - 80 yrs.). The speech recognition software used for the study was a commercially available continuous speech recognizer. Participants used the software to input a passage of text for five trials. Performance measures included reading time and system recognition errors. The results indicated that the reading time of the older adults was significantly longer than that of the younger adults. However, despite this difference there were no age differences in system recognition errors. In addition, the older people found the system easy to use and were comfortable using the technology. These results suggest that current speech recognition software is robust for both younger and older adults and is useable and acceptable by older people.

Mobile Health Technology Is Here—But Are Hospice Informal Caregivers Receptive?

Background: Mobile health applications (mHealth apps) represent a rapidly emerging technology that is being used to improve health-care delivery. In home hospice, informal caregivers play an essential role in attending to the day-to-day needs of their terminally ill loved ones. Using mHealth apps by caregivers in this setting could potentially improve the support provided to both patients and caregivers at the end of life (EoL). Objectives: To explore informal caregivers’ receptivity and concerns in using mHealth apps along with app features, caregivers perceived to be most useful in home hospice care. Design: Eighty semistructured phone interviews were conducted with informal caregivers who received care from a nonprofit hospice organization. Study data were analyzed using content analysis, coding for themes of receptivity and interest. Results: Sixty-two (78%) participants were receptive to using an mHealth app in home hospice care. Informal caregivers were interested in features that addressed: (1) communication to improve patient care (n = 44, 70%), (2) access to patient care information (n = 30, 48%), (3) education (n = 24, 39%), and (4) updates from health-care personnel and scheduling services (n = 10, 16%). Conclusions: A substantial majority of informal caregivers voiced receptivity to using mHealth apps and expressed interest in features that enhance communication and provide information to improve patient care. Although more research is needed to examine how to incorporate this technology into existing home hospice care, our study suggests that informal caregivers are likely to use this technology they feel will help enhance home-based EoL care delivery.

Older Adults and Attitutdes Towards Computers: Have they Changed with Recent Advances in Technology?

Although the use of computers is expanding in the overall population, for older adults there still remains a “digital divide”. Development of strategies to help insure that older people have equal opportunities to access computer technology depends on understanding why they have lower adoption rates. This paper examines changes in attitudes towards computers over time among a sample of 745 adults ranging in age from 18 — 75 yrs. Attitudes towards computers were assessed using the Attitudes Towards Computers Questionnaire across two time periods: 1994-1997 and 2000-2004. Over time, participants rated computers as less dehumanizing and reported an increased belief that computers were equally important to both genders. There were also age groups differences in ratings of comfort, efficacy, and control. The older adults reported less comfort, competence with computers. Over time, perceptions of having control over computers increased over time for the younger people but not for the middle-aged and older people. Understanding individual differences in attitudes towards computers is important to the design of intervention strategies such as training programs.

Age Group Differences in Subjective Perceptions of Telephone Voice Menu Systems

Interactive voice response (IVR) systems are increasingly being used for a variety of tasks. Unfortunately many users experience difficulty and frustration when interacting with these systems. IVR systems may be particularly problematic for older people given the cognitive demands associated with their use. This paper reports results from a study examining the usability of IVR systems for two applications: banking and an electric utility company. The sample included 195 males and females ranging in age from 18–82 years. The participants used the system to respond to a set of 24 problems/questions. They performed these tasks at one of three speech rates: 0% compression, 10% compression, and 20% compression. Prior to performing the task, the participants completed a prior experience questionnaire; following task performance they completed a questionnaire assessing system usability. Findings from these subjective measures will be presented in this paper. Overall, the data indicate age differences in perceptions of usability. These data will be discussed with respect to implications for system design.

Overcoming Older Adult Barriers to Learning Through an Understanding of Perspectives on Human Information Processing

The importance to older adults of being able to learn to perform activities related to leisure, work, or daily living for maintaining independence and a good quality of life is unquestionable. An appreciation of the challenges that older adults face during learning, as well as insights into ways to help them overcome these challenges, whether through design or instruction, can be obtained through a basic understanding of human information processing. The purpose of this article is to facilitate this understanding within the context of older adult learning. The article begins with an overview of the human information-processing system and cognitive limitations and capabilities associated with aging. Critical components of the information-processing system are then revisited in greater detail from the perspective of older adult information-processing capabilities. Concepts are illustrated through examples to demonstrate how older adults could make more efficient use of their information-processing resources during learning.