Toward an Active Aging Society: An IT Model to Engage the Aging Population

© 2019 IEEE. Many countries around the world are expecting a growing number of elderly people as the society is aging over time. This shift is expected to create a large impact on the health and social security system. The cost of having an increasing proportion of elderly people is emerging as a challenge for governments, so much that many countries are encouraging their people to stay in the workforce longer. As a result, the aging population requires a solution that allows them to remain productive and keeping them mentally healthy. Existing solutions rely on the benefits of social networks or service networks to keep them active and improve mental health. However, these solutions fail to allow elderly people to act as a value contributor for the society. This paper proposes the design of a new model that allows elderly people to actively and collaboratively provide value to the society through an assistive platform that integrates a service network with a social network. This model combines the advantages of the social network to connect them and utilize the advantages of the service network to create opportunities for elderly people to offer their skills and knowledge to exchange benefits with other users. The proposed model can be used as a mean to engage seniors to the community, allowing them to generate value for themselves and the community while staying mentally healthy

Family’s health: Opportunities for non-collocated intergenerational families collaboration on healthy living

When a family is engaged in healthy living practices together, it enhances the quality of life for all individuals. However, when members in families are separated over distance, the everyday encouragement and support may shift and obstacles arise within the family. In this study, we investigate non-collocated family members’ practices of healthy living, their perspectives on their family’s healthy living activities, and what obstacles exist regarding collaboration on their family health. We conducted an interview study with 26 independently living participants representing “elderly parents” and “adult children” in a family dynamic. We present members’ practices and strategies for sustainable healthy living activities. We also explore members’ creative use of technology for health promotion and describe existing obstacles that prevent families to effectively collaborate in healthy living. Based on our findings, we suggest design implications to support family members living apart on their efforts to cultivate health within their families

Una propuesta para mejorar la experiencia de los adultos mayores con las redes sociales

Social networks are one of the most requested applications from mobile devices. In this scenario, interface design (IU) faces a new challenge, and very particularly, when considering the older adult population (OA). In this work, we present a set of 23 design recommendations to improve the experience of OA in social networks using tablet. Then, a prototyping cycle is defi­ned and applied, which is based on a customization of Lean UX (user experience) methodology and driven by our design recommendations. The development process, which is centered on the needs and preferences of the OA population, proposes an alternative social network design for tablet. Thus, the resulting prototype is focused on improving the interaction experience, and therefore, also promoting the virtual social integration of this growing group of citizens.Las redes sociales son una de las aplicaciones más solicitadas desde los dispositivos móviles. En este escenario, el diseño de interfaces de usuario (IU) se enfrenta a un nuevo desafío y, muy particularmente, al considerar a la población de adultos mayores (AM). En este trabajo, se presentan un conjunto de 23 recomendaciones de diseño para mejorar la experiencia de los usuarios AM con las redes sociales usando tablets. Posteriormente, se define y aplica un ciclo de prototipado, el cual está basado en una customización de la metodología Lean UX (user experience [experiencia de usuario]) y dirigido por nuestras recomendaciones de diseño. El proceso de desarrollo, que está centrado en las necesidades y preferencias de la población de AM, propone un diseño alternativo de red social para tablet. Así, el prototipo resultante está enfocado en mejorar la experiencia de interacción y, por ende, también en propiciar la integración social virtual de este grupo creciente de ciudadanos

Accessibility of Health Data Representations for Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for Design

Health data of consumer off-the-shelf wearable devices is often conveyed to users through visual data representations and analyses. However, this is not always accessible to people with disabilities or older people due to low vision, cognitive impairments or literacy issues. Due to trade-offs between aesthetics predominance or information overload, real-time user feedback may not be conveyed easily from sensor devices through visual cues like graphs and texts. These difficulties may hinder critical data understanding. Additional auditory and tactile feedback can also provide immediate and accessible cues from these wearable devices, but it is necessary to understand existing data representation limitations initially. To avoid higher cognitive and visual overload, auditory and haptic cues can be designed to complement, replace or reinforce visual cues. In this paper, we outline the challenges in existing data representation and the necessary evidence to enhance the accessibility of health information from personal sensing devices used to monitor health parameters such as blood pressure, sleep, activity, heart rate and more. By creating innovative and inclusive user feedback, users will likely want to engage and interact with new devices and their own data