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Designing for Older Adults: Principles and Creative Human Factors Approaches
... CAs engage users in conversational interactions, primarily through text and spoken natural language, to assist various aspects of older adults' lives. Applications of CAs for older adults range from those support their daily activities, such as meal preparation [28], time management and home maintenance [28,37,37], to those provide healthcare support, including medication, preventative care, and disease management [28,37]. Additionally, the recent advancement of generative AI technologies, especially large language models (LLMs), presents promising opportunities to engage with older adults with more nuanced and contextually relevant responses compared to traditional CAs, such as rule-based or other predefined technical approaches. ...
... CAs engage users in conversational interactions, primarily through text and spoken natural language, to assist various aspects of older adults' lives. Applications of CAs for older adults range from those support their daily activities, such as meal preparation [28], time management and home maintenance [28,37,37], to those provide healthcare support, including medication, preventative care, and disease management [28,37]. Additionally, the recent advancement of generative AI technologies, especially large language models (LLMs), presents promising opportunities to engage with older adults with more nuanced and contextually relevant responses compared to traditional CAs, such as rule-based or other predefined technical approaches. ...
... CAs engage users in conversational interactions, primarily through text and spoken natural language, to assist various aspects of older adults' lives. Applications of CAs for older adults range from those support their daily activities, such as meal preparation [28], time management and home maintenance [28,37,37], to those provide healthcare support, including medication, preventative care, and disease management [28,37]. Additionally, the recent advancement of generative AI technologies, especially large language models (LLMs), presents promising opportunities to engage with older adults with more nuanced and contextually relevant responses compared to traditional CAs, such as rule-based or other predefined technical approaches. ...
There has been vast literature that studies Conversational Agents (CAs) in facilitating older adults' health. The vast and diverse studies warrants a comprehensive review that concludes the main findings and proposes research directions for future studies, while few literature review did it from human-computer interaction (HCI) perspective. In this study, we present a survey of existing studies on CAs for older adults' health. Through a systematic review of 72 papers, this work reviewed previously studied older adults' characteristics and analyzed participants' experiences and expectations of CAs for health. We found that (1) Past research has an increasing interest on chatbots and voice assistants and applied CA as multiple roles in older adults' health. (2) Older adults mainly showed low acceptance CAs for health due to various reasons, such as unstable effects, harm to independence, and privacy concerns. (3) Older adults expect CAs to be able to support multiple functions, to communicate using natural language, to be personalized, and to allow users full control. We also discuss the implications based on the findings.
... Food packaging can become a significant obstacle for older adults to get appropriate nutrients (Bell et al., 2016;Clegg & Williams, 2018 . For older adults, these actions may be challenging due to sensory capacity limitations (e.g., visual acuity, color perception, hearing, and tactile sensitivity) and a decline in dexterity and hand strength (Carse et al., 2010;Czaja et al., 2019;Ford et al., 2016;, which also vary among older individuals (Czaja et al., 2019). Thus, designing inclusive packaging should be the norm to provide easy access and use. ...
... Food packaging can become a significant obstacle for older adults to get appropriate nutrients (Bell et al., 2016;Clegg & Williams, 2018 . For older adults, these actions may be challenging due to sensory capacity limitations (e.g., visual acuity, color perception, hearing, and tactile sensitivity) and a decline in dexterity and hand strength (Carse et al., 2010;Czaja et al., 2019;Ford et al., 2016;, which also vary among older individuals (Czaja et al., 2019). Thus, designing inclusive packaging should be the norm to provide easy access and use. ...
... Although it is known that hand strength declines after age sixty (Czaja et al., 2019;Yoxall et al., 2006), we found no significant difference in hand force between groups (hand-grip and lateral pinch), suggesting that differences in usability issues between groups are not determined by hand strength. In this regard, our study supports the thesis that there are multiple factors influencing older adults' packaging opening performance (Bell et al., 2016;Bell et al., 2017b;Bell et al., 2013: Canty et al., 2013Świda et al., 2019;Yoxall et al., 2019;. ...
Given that human physical and cognitive abilities change as we age, the food packaging industry should respond to the new necessities that emerge. However, ergonomics and universal design principles are frequently absent in the packaging design process, resulting in the implementation of package solutions that can become an obstacle for many users. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usability of ten food and beverage packages found in the market with two age groups of older adults (65-74 years and 75+ years). Participants’ hand-grip strength and lateral pinch strength were measured as background information. We evaluated task efficiency measuring opening and closing times, and identified interaction issues in opening, closing, and pouring liquids. We also explored performance differences between the two group samples by comparing opening and closing times. There was no significant difference between age groups in terms of hand streng.Usability test results showed similar difficulties and errors during package opening in both groups due to low visibility of interactive components, unclear affordances, and anthropometric incompatibilities. We also observed a frequent use of knives or scissors to open the packaging. We identified some problems to effectively close the packaging and no errors in pouring liquids. The comparison analysis showed a significant difference only in opening times between the two age groups for the thermoformed tray (laminated cheese). Our study can help designers and engineers to introduce usability testing in their design process and to create easy-to-use packaging solutions considering older adults’ capabilities and limitations.
... Estimations indicate that around 40% of individuals experience hearing loss significant enough to impede social interaction and environmental safety by age 65. In addition, loss of sensitivity to high-frequencies in sound is a common occurrence in auditory decline [20]. Moreover, visual impairments are also more pronounced in older adults, especially concerning dark adaptation, the extent of the visual field, visual processing speed, and perceptual flexibility [1]. ...
... In fact, during aging, cellular atrophy occurs in the cochlea, which is the primary detector of incoming auditory signals and other components of the hearing sensory system [21]. This decline, known as presbycusis, usually includes progressive hearing loss deteriorating over time, difficulty hearing high-frequency sounds, and ringing or whistling in the ears commonly known as tinnitus [1], [2], [20], [21]. As a result, sound perception and voice recognition are significantly impaired, particularly for lowintensity sounds, which appear to be silenced. ...
Aging introduces sensory, motor, and cognitive challenges and limited familiarity with digital interfaces, often hindering older adults’ adoption of new technologies. Smartwatches, with their compact size and health monitoring features, promise to improve older adults’ quality of life. However, their small screens and complex interfaces create significant usability barriers. While guidelines for mobile and web interfaces exist, frameworks for smartwatch design still need to be explored. This study addresses this gap by proposing smartwatch-specific design guidelines for older adults. Through an analysis of user challenges, existing design principles, and smartwatch constraints, the research formulates actionable recommendations to enhance usability and user experience. The contributions include identifying key obstacles older adults face with smartwatches, evaluating the applicability of established guidelines, creating tailored design principles for small screens, and developing a design system that balances simplicity, usability, and functionality. These contributions aim to facilitate smartwatch adoption and improve the inclusivity of digital technologies for older adults.
... User-Centered Design: Prioritizing user experience and usability by adopting a user-centered design approach is essential to ensure that mHealth applications remain intuitive, accessible, and accommodating to diverse user demographics, especially older adults and individuals with varying levels of technological literacy [54]- [56]. For older adults, this may include incorporating larger font sizes, voice commands, and visual cues to simplify navigation, as well as designing workflows that minimize cognitive load [57]. Prior studies have demonstrated that usability testing with older adults often reveals overlooked barriers, such as the need for simplified authentication processes or offline functionality for users in regions with unreliable internet [58]. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated the adoption of mobile health (mHealth) applications, reshaping healthcare delivery while exposing critical barriers to usability and accessibility for older adults in Saudi Arabia. This study examines these challenges during and after the pandemic using a repeated cross-sectional design, focusing on issues such as limited digital literacy, accessibility concerns, and the evolving role of mHealth applications. To capture these dynamics, an initial survey ( n = 397) was conducted during the pandemic to understand how families of older adults navigated mHealth applications under mandatory usage requirements. This was complemented by direct interviews ( n = 5) and unstructured observations of real-world interactions to provide a nuanced view of older adults’ experiences. To evaluate the long-term impact of mHealth adoption post-pandemic, a second survey ( n = 129) was conducted, accompanied by a review of 21 mHealth applications. The findings reveal persistent barriers that hinder independent use, exacerbate reliance on others, and deepen digital inequities. These challenges highlight systemic design and infrastructure shortcomings that undermine equitable access. At the same time, the study highlight the role of families in bridging these gaps, fostering collaboration, and enabling older adults to access digital healthcare. As mHealth applications become integral to healthcare ecosystems, this study calls for the development of inclusive, user-centered designs and targeted interventions to enhance digital literacy, reduce disparities, and empower older adults in accessing equitable healthcare.
... Technology provides a resource for addressing the challenges of an aging population by providing innovative assistive services, enhancing health, wellbeing, and safety, and creating opportunities for engagement (Czaja et al., 2019). In this context, assistive robots could play a vital role in supporting older adults aging in place successfully. ...
Introduction
Robots have the potential to support older adults with cognitive impairments and mobility impairments in daily tasks that could promote their independence, enhance their abilities, ensure safety, and lower healthcare costs.
Method
Using a participatory design approach, we focused on identifying the functional capabilities of the Stretch robot to support older adults with various cognitive or mobility impairments. Twelve participants (aged 60–97) were recruited to interact with the robot and give feedback regarding support in a home environment. Stretch is a mobile robot manipulator designed to support everyday activities using a lightweight telescoping arm mounted on a mobile base. We conducted a semi-structured interview with participants as they observed and interacted with Stretch, performing tasks such as providing reminders, picking up and delivering items, and facilitating video calls.
Results and Discussion
The participants were asked to share potential areas of application related to their daily activities to illustrate how Stretch could support them in their homes. Our user-centered design approach provided a unique opportunity to understand the needs of older adults with mobility impairments and cognitive impairments, to identify the type of tasks the robot could support, and to gain insights into potential facilitators and barriers for robot adoption.
... The physical decline associated with ageing can also create challenges when using digital-related data collection methods. Czaja et al. (2019) point out that, as individuals age, even without disease or injury, many experience age-related deficits in sensory functions such as vision, hearing, touch, and kinaesthetics. Cognitive abilities, including processing speed, attention, and memory, also tend to decline. ...
Interest in remote data collection methods (RDCM) for co-design research has grown recently, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic’s restrictions on traditional in-person practices. Existing RDCM, which rely heavily on Internet access, often exclude marginalised groups like older people and primarily collect textual or verbal data. This paper explores enhancing RDCM’s inclusiveness and diversity of data collected in co-design by examining findings from a remote project that actively engaged older adults as co-designers to address later-life loneliness, using a hybrid approach of online sessions and tangible toolkits. The findings reveal the intertwining relationship between RDCM and co-design, identifying two types of data collected: outcomes-focused and process data. The hybrid RDCM effectively expand geographical and demographic inclusiveness, enabling older adults with limited digital skills to fully participate and collect diverse data, including tangible and non-textual forms. However, the findings indicate trade-offs, such as the exclusion of reluctant older Internet users and progress at a cost in terms of additional time, effort, and resources. This paper contributes significantly to RDCM research in co-design contexts and lays foundational insights for future research aimed at increasing democratic inclusiveness in remote co-design settings and diversifying data collection.
... Building on Davis's (1989) PEOU scale, this research utilizes questionnaire surveys to assess elderly audiences' challenges in maintaining attention, understanding content, and acquiring knowledge from animated information as key indicators of PEOU. Fisk et al. (2009) andStuart-Hamilton (2012) demonstrated the decline in visual sensitivity and auditory discrimination with age, emphasizing the need for age-friendly cognitive media designs that prioritize enhancing perceptual stimulation. However, Norman and Bobrow's perceptual load theory (Norman and Bobrow, 1975) suggests that excessive perceptual stimulation can lead to physiological discomfort in older adults and deplete their limited cognitive resources, thereby impairing information processing efficiency. ...
With the rapid aging of the global population, challenges in dynamic visual information processing among older adults have gained increasing attention. Drawing on cognitive aging theory and multimedia cognitive load theory, this study investigated a strategic framework for age-friendly animated information, highlighting the multidimensional nature of dynamic visual cognition in older adults. Using a mixed-methods approach—including literature reviews, interviews, case analyses, and questionnaire surveys—the study examined the effects of perceptual experience (PE), information complexity (IC), and degree of audiovisual integration (AVID) on perceived ease of use (PEOU). The results revealed that PE and AVID significantly and positively influenced PEOU, whereas IC had a significant negative effect. Furthermore, the interaction of multiple independent variables introduces potential interference and complex relationships. Based on these findings, the study proposes a strategic framework for age-friendly animated information, emphasizing the reduction of IC, enhancement of PE, and optimization of AVID to improve information reception among older adults. This framework offers both theoretical guidance and practical support for the development of age-friendly dynamic visual media.
... In addition, empowerment can be conceptualized as both a process and an outcome. Empowerment is also an important concept within the theoretical framework of person-centredness [23], which is also a relevant approach within this field given that the older population is a heterogeneous group in terms of characteristics, experiences and conditions [24], which means that ageing is highly individual. In health promotion, as in a person-centred approach, it is important to start from the needs and wishes of the individual. ...
Background
Health-promotive interventions targeting older persons are important for active and healthy ageing. Hence, physical group exercises for community-dwelling older persons are arranged by various stakeholders via meeting places within the municipalities. Increased knowledge of how group exercises via meeting places can be arranged to promote health for the older population is needed. Therefore, the aim was to explore involved stakeholders’ experiences of group exercises for older persons arranged via meeting places in municipalities in relation to health promotion.
Methods
Six focus group interviews were conducted online with 25 stakeholders from seven municipalities in Sweden. The stakeholders were managers of prevention units, municipal coordinators for physical activity, group exercise leaders, stakeholders from study associations, sports associations and private stakeholders, and non-profit stakeholders who arranged group exercises via the meeting places. The data was analysed using focus group methodology, where the focus of the analysis was to obtain the stakeholders’ collective understanding of the topic.
Findings
The analysis resulted in two main themes and seven categories. In the main theme Strategies to strengthen empowerment and exercise habits among older persons, the stakeholders highlighted strategies on an individual level. Strategies of importance to attract new participants and supporting them in maintaining their exercise habits, empowering them through social belonging, adapting to older persons through responsiveness and evaluation, facilitating participation in decision-making, and enabling older persons to lead group exercises. The other main theme, Strategies to strengthen the arrangement of group exercises over time, highlighted strategies on an organisational level concerning financial resources, supportive environments, the importance of human resources, competence development as well as collaboration.
Conclusions
Person-centredness emerges in health-promoting strategies both at the individual and organisational level. The study contributes to an understanding of how person-centredness is significant when working with health-promotive interventions for healthy ageing. Thus, a potential implication is to use a person-centred approach in the encounter with older persons and in the organisation when arranging group exercises for community-dwelling older persons.
... It is estimated that by 2030, these figures will range from 12 to 24%. The fastest growing subgroup represents those older than 80 years of age (Fisk, Rogers, Charness, Czaja, & Sharit, 2004). In Taiwan, the proportion of the population older than 65 has increased from 7.02% in 1993 to 13.05% in 2004 (Department of Statistics, 2005). ...
This study analyzed psychophysical data from younger and elderly people on the influence of spacing between vertical lines, exposure time, and number of vertical lines in a stimulus for visual performance. A total of 50 elderly people and 31 graduate students participated in the experiment. Nine levels of spacing between lines (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, and 29 points), three exposure times (0.2, 0.6, and 1.0 sec.), and five sets of numbers of lines (4, 5, 6, 7, and 8) were manipulated. Analysis showed enhanced spacing between lines and exposure time improved discrimination of separation. However, although performance on discrimination of separation increased as spacing between lines increased up to 21 points, it was degraded at higher values. A positive effect of number of lines on discrimination of separation was also observed, and performance increased as the number of lines decreased. The effect of age group, i.e., elderly versus younger, on performance was significant. The accuracy of the younger was greater than that for the elderly group. Moreover, three interactive two-way effects were found: group × spacing between lines, number of lines × spacing between lines, and number of lines × exposure time. The present findings could be used as a practical reference in the design of instrument displays in which the operator has to consider the scale and markings on a dial, especially if the display is operated in an emergency or is manipulated by elderly people.
First, we propose a theory of multimedia learning based on the assumptions that humans possess separate systems for processing pictorial and verbal material (dual-channel assumption), each channel is limited in the amount of material that can be processed at one time (limited-capacity assumption), and meaningful learning involves cognitive processing including building con- nections between pictorial and verbal representations (active-processing assumption). Second, based on the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, we examine the concept of cognitive over- load in which the learner's intended cognitive processing exceeds the learner's available cogni- tive capacity. Third, we examine five overload scenarios. For each overload scenario, we offer one or two theory-based suggestions for reducing cognitive load, and we summarize our re- search results aimed at testing the effectiveness of each suggestion. Overall, our analysis shows that cognitive load is a central consideration in the design of multimedia instruction.
As the U.S. population ages, the labor force will grow more slowly during the next decade; the older labor force is projected to grow more than 5 times faster than the overall labor force, which will become ever more racially and ethnically diverse.