Designing interactions for the ageing populations – addressing global challenges

We are concurrently witnessing two significant shifts: digital devices are becoming ubiquitous, and older people are becoming a very large demographic group. However, despite the recent increase in related CHI publications, older adults continue to be underrepresented in HCI research as well as commercially. Therefore, the overarching aim of this workshop is to increase the momentum for such research within CHI and related fields such as gerontechnology. For this, we plan to create a space for discussing and sharing principles and strategies to design interactions and evaluate user interfaces (UI) for the ageing population. We thus welcome contributions of empirical studies, theories, design and evaluation of UIs for older adults. Building on the success of last two year’s workshops, we aim to grow the community of CHI researchers across borders interested in this topic by fostering a space to exchange results, methods, approaches, and ideas from research on interactive applications in support of older adults that are reflective of international diversity that is representative of CHI

Rethinking mobile interfaces for older adults

This SIG advances the study of mobile user interfaces for the aging population. The topic is timely, as the mobile device has become the most widely used computer terminal and at the same time the number of older people will soon exceed the number of children worldwide. However, most HCI research addresses younger adults and has had little impact on older adults. Some design trends, like the mantra “smaller is smarter”, contradict the needs of older users. Developments like this may diminish their ability to access information and participate in society. This can lead to further isolation (social and physical) of older adults and increased widening of the digital divide. This SIG aims to discuss mobile interfaces for older adults. The SIG has three goals: (i) to map the state-of-art, (ii) to build a community gathering experts from related areas, and (iii) to raise awareness within the SIGCHI community. The SIG will be open to all at CHI

Designing mobile interactions for the ageing populations

We are concurrently witnessing two significant shifts: mobiles are becoming the most used computing device; and older people are becoming the largest demographic group. However, despite the recent increase in related CHI publication, older adults continue to be underrepresented in HCI research as well as commercially, further widening the digital divide they face and hampering their social participation. This workshop aims to increase the momentum for such research within CHI and related fields such as gerontechnology. We plan to create a space for discussing and sharing principles and strategies to design and evaluate mobile user interfaces for the aging population. We thus welcome contributions to empirical studies, theories, design and evaluation of mobile interfaces for older adults

Designing interactions for the ageing populations – addressing global challenges

We are concurrently witnessing two significant shifts: digital devices are becoming ubiquitous, and older people are becoming a very large demographic group. However, despite the recent increase in related CHI publications, older adults continue to be underrep- resented in HCI research as well as commercially. Therefore, the overarching aim of this workshop is to increase the momentum for such research within CHI and related fields such as gerontechnol- ogy. For this, we plan to continue developing a space to discuss and share principles and strategies to design interactions and evaluate user interfaces (UI) for the ageing population. We thus welcome contributions of proposing improved empirical studies, theories, de- sign and evaluation of UIs for older adults. Building on the success of the last three years’ workshops, we aim to grow the community of CHI researchers across borders interested in this topic by fos- tering a space to exchange results, methods, approaches, and ideas from research on interactive applications in support of older adults that are reflective of international diversity

WHO-ISG collaboration on assistive technologies for healthy ageing-in-place:A round table discussion

Assistive Technology (AT) is used at various points in the lifespan by those coping with either short-term or long-term impairments, which can involve living with chronic conditions and/or comorbidities. In the case of older adults, AT can support or compensate for the functional or cognitive declines that they are likely to face in later life. AT can be integrated as part of smart homes (see Figure 1 from van Dijken et al, 2006); and should be safe to use, effective, easy to access, affordable, and not seen as stigmatising. In addition, AT should support older adults to have a meaningful life while building self-esteem, and autonomy and promoting social participation and community engagement. For this roundtable discussion, we present and discuss a WHO-ISG collaborative project focused on Assistive Technology for Healthy Ageing. For this project, we consider applications and use AT not only from a medical standpoint but also situated within a social perspective in the context of Gerontechnology. Results and propositions according to the WHO-UNICEF global report on assistive technology were applied as a starting point for this project (WHO, 2022), prioritising the potential benefits to individuals, their communities, and society and with a focus on identifying potential barriers that may occur and how to mitigate them

A Spanish Adaptation of the Computer and Mobile Device Proficiency Questionnaires (CPQ and MDPQ) for Older Adults

Technology can help support the goal of many older adults to live independently, though cognitive, attitudinal, and other barriers often result in a “digital divide” in which older adults use and adopt new technology at a lower rate compared to younger adults. Due to the many potential benefits of technology it is not surprising that interest in tools that assess technology proficiency among older adults has increased. These tools can help support older adult technology research and training. However, to understand these issues more broadly, especially cross-cultural determinants of technology proficiency, translated, validated, and standardized measures of proficiency are necessary. For example, according to the last Eurobarometer (European Commission, 2015), Spain has experienced the largest increase in technology adoption among European Union nations in the past few years, indicating potential cultural mediation of technology adoption and use. To benefit the investigation of cross-cultural differences and their causes, we adapted the Mobile Device Proficiency Questionnaire (MDPQ) and Computer Proficiency Questionnaire (CPQ) for older adults in Spain, including the full and brief forms of each measure. Consistent with English versions of the questionnaires, the scales and their subscales were found to be reliable and valid measures of mobile device and computer proficiency in Spanish older adults. However, in contrast to earlier studies, the factor structure for both questionnaires simplified into two factors for the population under study. We conclude that the Spanish versions of the MDPQ and CPQ can be employed as useful tools for measuring mobile device and computer proficiency in the Spanish older adult population for research and training purposes