Inspiring service innovation through co-design in public sector healthcare

How can we inspire service innovation through the co-design of public sector healthcare delivery particularly when facing a large and complex challenge? The design and development of a new prototype food service to address malnutrition in older adult hospital patients is used as a case study. It describes how methods used predominantly by designers have been adapted to empower, train, inspire, facilitate and guide not only the multi-disciplinary research team - including food scientists, nutritionists, medical sociologists, ergonomists, and technologists - but also service users and providers. The co-design process is based on the idea that much innovation comes from creating a blend of ideas from multiple sources and that the design of the research can influence the degree of innovation. This paper describes the approach and process that has provided the research team with valuable findings, insights and ideas crucial to successful service redesign and innovation and which is resulting in a new food service prototype

Challenges in Developing Applications for Aging Populations

Elderly individuals can greatly benefit from the use of computer applications, which can assist in monitoring health conditions, staying in contact with friends and family, and even learning new things. However, developing accessible applications for an elderly user can be a daunting task for developers. Since the advent of the personal computer, the benefits and challenges of developing applications for older adults have been a hot topic of discussion. In this chapter, the authors discuss the various challenges developers who wish to create applications for the elderly computer user face, including age-related impairments, generational differences in computer use, and the hardware constraints mobile devices pose for application developers. Although these challenges are concerning, each can be overcome after being properly identified

Improving accessibility for people with dementia: web content and research

The Internet can provide a means of communication, searching for information, support groups and entertainment, amongst other services, and as a technology, can help to promote independence for people with dementia. However, the effectiveness of this technology relies on the users’ ability to use it. Web content, websites and online services need to be designed to meet the abilities and needs of people with dementia, and thus the difficulties that these users encounter must be explored and understood.The primary aim of this thesis is to investigate web content accessibility for People with Dementia and develop recommendations for improving current guidelines based on accessibility needs. The secondary aim is to support people with dementia having a voice within research through development of accessible ethical processes.Qualitative data were collected with a scoping study using questionnaires about everyday technology use (people with dementia and older adults without dementia); and in-depth interviews to explore difficulties and web accessibility issues. A document analysis was conducted on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (ISO/IEC40500:2012) for inclusion of the needs of people with dementia followed by review of Web Usability Guidance (ISO9241-151:2008) to consider how gaps relating to the unmet accessibility needs for people with dementia could be met. The scoping study found that both people with dementia and older adults without dementia use everyday ICT to access the Web. Both groups described difficulties with web interface interactions, which refined the research scope to web content accessibility. The interview data with people with dementia (n=16) and older adults without dementia (n=9) were analysed using Grounded Theory techniques. It was found that both user groups experienced the same types of difficulties using the Web, but that dementia symptoms could exacerbate the difficulties from usability issues (older adults without dementia) into accessibility issues for people with dementia. Navigation was a key issue for both groups, with a range of web content design elements contributing to accessibility issues with navigation for people with dementia. The document analysis found that the accessibility guidance did not address all the accessibility issues encountered by people with dementia. However, the usability guidance did address many of the accessibility issues for web content navigation experienced by people with dementia. The research provides recommendations for improvements to web content accessibility guidelines including content from usability guidelines, and amendments to current guidelines and success criteria. A new ethical recruitment/consent process was developed and tested as part of the research process and is recommended for use in future research to support engagement of people with dementia.</div

Future bathroom: A study of user-centred design principles affecting usability, safety and satisfaction in bathrooms for people living with disabilities

Research and development work relating to assistive technology 2010-11 (Department of Health) Presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 22 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 197

Investigating the Potential of Artificial Intelligence Powered Interfaces to Support Different Types of Memory for People with Dementia

There has been a growing interest in HCI to understand the specific technological needs of people with dementia and supporting them in self-managing daily activities. One of the most difficult challenges to address is supporting the fluctuating accessibility needs of people with dementia, which vary with the specific type of dementia and the progression of the condition. Researchers have identified auto-personalized interfaces, and more recently, Artificial Intelligence or AI-driven personalization as a potential solution to making commercial technology accessible in a scalable manner for users with fluctuating ability. However, there is a lack of understanding on the perceptions of people with dementia around AI as an aid to their everyday technology use and its role in their overall self-management systems, which include other non-AI technology, and human assistance. In this paper, we present future directions for the design of AI-based systems to personalize an interface for dementia-related changes in different types of memory, along with expectations for AI interactions with the user with dementia.Comment: 7 page

DemYouth: Co-Designing and Enacting Tools to Support Young People’s Engagement with People with Dementia

There is a growing body of research examining the role of technology in supporting the care of—and relationships surrounding—people with dementia, yet little attention has been given to how this relates to younger family members. We conducted a qualitative study based on a series of 6 codesign workshops conducted with 14 young people who had personal experience with dementia. Initially, our workshops focused on understanding the difficulties that young people face when engaging, interacting and being with people with dementia. Initial analysis of workshop data informed the design of three digital tool concepts that were used as the basis for user enactment workshops. Our findings highlight the young people's desire to be more involved in their family discussions around dementia and a need for them to find new ways to connect with their loved ones with dementia. We offer a set of design considerations for future systems that support these needs and reflect on some of the complexities we faced around engaging young people in this difficult topic of discussion

Weaving Lighthouses and Stitching Stories: Blind and Visually Impaired People Designing E-textiles

We describe our experience of working with blind and visually impaired people to create interactive art objects that are personal to them, through a participatory making process using electronic textiles (e-textiles) and hands-on crafting techniques. The research addresses both the practical considerations about how to structure hands-on making workshops in a way which is accessible to participants of varying experience and abilities, and how effective the approach was in enabling participants to tell their own stories and feel in control of the design and making process. The results of our analysis is the offering of insights in how to run e-textile making sessions in such a way for them to be more accessible and inclusive to a wider community of participants

A web-based platform for people with memory problems and their caregivers (CAREGIVERSPRO-MMD): Mixed-methods evaluation of usability

Background: The increasing number of people with dementia (PwD) drives research exploring Web-based support interventions to provide effective care for larger populations. In this concept, a Web-based platform (CAREGIVERSPRO-MMD, 620911) was designed to (1) improve the quality of life for PwD, (2) reduce caregiver burden, (3) reduce the financial costs for care, and (4) reduce administration time for health and social care professionals. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the usability and usefulness of CAREGIVERSPRO-MMD platform for PwD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), informal caregivers, and health and social care professionals with respect to a wider strategy followed by the project to enhance the user-centered approach. A secondary aim of the study was to collect recommendations to improve the platform before the future pilot study. Methods: A mixed methods design was employed for recruiting PwD or MCI (N=24), informal caregivers (N=24), and professionals (N=10). Participants were asked to rate their satisfaction, the perceived usefulness, and ease of use of each function of the platform. Qualitative questions about the improvement of the platform were asked when participants provided low scores for a function. Testing occurred at baseline and 1 week after participants used the platform. The dropout rate from baseline to the follow-up was approximately 10% (6/58). Results: After 1 week of platform use, the system was useful for 90% (20.75/23) of the caregivers and for 89% (5.36/6) of the professionals. When users responded to more than 1 question per platform function, the mean of satisfied users per function was calculated. These user groups also provided positive evaluations for the ease of use (caregivers: 82%, 18.75/23; professionals: 97%, 5.82/6) and their satisfaction with the platform (caregivers: 79%, 18.08/23; professionals: 73%, 4.36/6). Ratings from PwD were lower than the other groups for usefulness (57%, 13/23), ease of use (41%, 9.4/23), and overall satisfaction (47%, 11/23) with the platform (

Designing ICTs for Users with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Usability Study

Background: Research has supported the cost-effectiveness of cognitive training tools enhanced by information and communication technologies (ICT) in several populations, including individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and age-related cognitive decline. The implementation of ICTs in this population, however, is sometimes challenging to their cognitive and age characteristics. Ultimately, this might compromise the effectiveness of ICT-enhanced therapies in this population. The aim of this study is to test the usability and acceptability of a European project prototype for elderly care, in an attempt to explore the ICT design needs of users with MCI. Methods: Participants were 28 individuals aged 58-95 years and with a diagnosis of MCI. Results: The results showed a low perception of peripheral elements and the need to place main interaction elements in the centre of the screen. The correlation between the general level of autonomy (daily life activities) and the ICT autonomy level was significant and positive. The speed of audio help had a significant impact on performance. Conclusion: The present work contributes to the literature on ICT usability needs of users with MCI. Some usability recommendations for designing interfaces for this type of user are provided in the text