32 research outputs found
ATHENE : Assistive technologies for healthy living in elders : needs assessment by ethnography
Numerous assistive technologies to support independent living āincluding personal alarms, mobile phones, self-monitoring devices, mobility aids, software apps and home adaptations āhave been developed over the years, but their uptake by older people, especially those from minority ethnic groups, is poor.
This paper outlines the ways in which the ATHENE project
seeks to redress this situation by producing a richer
understanding of the complex and diverse living experiences and care needs of older people and exploring how industry, the NHS, social services and third sector can work with the older people themselves to āco-produceā useful and useable ALT designs to
meet their needs. In this paper, we provide an overview of the project methodology and discuss some of the issues it raises for the design and development process
The ATHENE project:the importance of bricolage in personalising assisted living technologies
Introduction: An aging population is fueling interest in assisted living technologies (ALTs) to support independence at home. Numerous ALTs have been developed and deployed, but uptake and use has fallen short of levels predicted by policymakers. A key reason is a lack of understanding of usersā needs. In this paper we report findings from the ATHENE (Assistive Technologies for Healthy Living in Elders: Needs Assessment by Ethnography) project, which is funded by the Technology Strategy Board under its Assisted Living Innovation Platform programme. The project aims to produce a richer understanding of the lived experiences and needs of older people and explore how ALT stakeholders ā suppliers, health and social care providers ā can work with users and carers to ācoproduceā ALTs. We focus, in particular, on the role of ābricolageā (pragmatic customisation, combining new with legacy devices) by informal carers, such as family members, in enabling ALTs to be personalised to individual needs. Bricolage allows users and family members to take the initiative in ācoproducingā ALTs. that making assisted living work relies on collaboration, involving not only formal carers, but also informal ones. We argue that a new research agenda is needed, focusing on solving challenges of involving users and their informal carers in the straightforward and dependable co-production of ALTs
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Towards <i>Smart Kennels</i> for Supporting Canine Welfare: an Early Exploration of Requirements
We present the findings of an early requirements elicitation study for a smart kennel supporting canine welfare. We discuss unique challenges posed by the kennel environment in terms of design outcomes and research processes
Designing assisted living technologies 'in the wild' : preliminary experiences with cultural probe methodology
Background
There is growing interest in assisted living technologies to support independence at home. Such technologies should ideally be designed āin the wildā i.e. taking account of how real people live in real homes and communities. The ATHENE (Assistive Technologies for Healthy Living in Elders: Needs Assessment by Ethnography) project seeks to illuminate the living needs of older people and facilitate the co-production with older people of technologies and services. This paper describes the development of a cultural probe tool produced as part of the ATHENE project and how it was used to support home visit interviews with elders with a range of ethnic and social backgrounds, family circumstances, health conditions and assisted living needs.
Method
Thirty one people aged 60 to 98 were visited in their homes on three occasions. Following an initial interview, participants were given a set of cultural probe materials, including a digital camera and the āHome and Life Scrapbookā to complete in their own time for one week. Activities within the Home and Life Scrapbook included maps (indicating their relationships to people, places and objects), lists (e.g. likes, dislikes, things they were concerned about, things they were comfortable with), wishes (things they wanted to change or improve), body outline (indicating symptoms or impairments), home plan (room layouts of their homes to indicate spaces and objects used) and a diary. After one week, the researcher and participant reviewed any digital photos taken and the content of the Home and Life Scrapbook as part of the home visit interview.
Findings
The cultural probe facilitated collection of visual, narrative and material data by older people, and appeared to generate high levels of engagement from some participants. However, others used the probe minimally or not at all for various reasons including limited literacy, physical problems (e.g. holding a pen), lack of time or energy, limited emotional or psychological resources, life events, and acute illness. Discussions between researchers and participants about the materials collected (and sometimes about what had prevented them completing the tasks) helped elicit further information relevant to assisted living technology design. The probe materials were particularly helpful when having conversations with non-English speaking participants through an interpreter.
Conclusions
Cultural probe methods can help build a rich picture of the lives and experiences of older people to facilitate the co-production of assisted living technologies. But their application may be constrained by the participantās physical, mental and emotional capacity. They are most effective when used as a tool to facilitate communication and development of a deeper understanding of older peopleās needs
CATS: ASSISTING OLDER PEOPLE OBTAIN APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT
In this paper, we describe the development of a checklist that is in development that can be used to assist older people determine the efficacy of different types of technology support systems. The importance of this is clear when considered in terms of the rising older population and the speed of technological acceleration making it impossible to keep abreast of latest developments that might be useful to supporting older people at home