1. Inclusion of older adults in the research and design of digital technology
- Author
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Wanyu Xi, Ella Schwartz, Sandra C. Buttigieg, Ittay Mannheim, Mary McDonnell-Naughton, Yvonne van Zaalen, Eveline Wouters, Technological and Social Innovation for Mental Health, and Tranzo, Scientific center for care and wellbeing
- Subjects
Male ,Technology ,Aging in place ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,lcsh:Medicine ,DIVIDE ,0302 clinical medicine ,Informed consent ,ageism ,Health care ,EXCLUSION ,Elderly people ,030212 general & internal medicine ,10. No inequality ,older adults ,Aged, 80 and over ,Inclusion ,INFORMED-CONSENT ,Attitude to Computers ,DEMENTIA ,Research Design ,Inclusive education -- Case studies ,Older adults ,STEREOTYPE ACTIVATION ,Female ,Psychology ,Engineering design process ,Ethics -- Case studies ,AGING-IN-PLACE ,Opinion ,Inclusion (disability rights) ,Internet privacy ,ELDERLY-PEOPLE ,Ageism ,03 medical and health sciences ,AGE ,Inventions ,Digital technology ,Humans ,Aged ,Ethics ,Stereotyping ,digital technology ,inclusion ,ethics ,business.industry ,lcsh:R ,Community Participation ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,ComputingMilieux_PERSONALCOMPUTING ,ACCEPTANCE ,Faculty of Science and Health ,Older people -- Case studies ,HEALTH-CARE ,ComputingMilieux_COMPUTERSANDSOCIETY ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Digital technology holds a promise to improve older adults’ well-being and promote ageing in place. However, there seems to be a discrepancy between digital technologies that are developed and what older adults actually want and need. Ageing is stereotypically framed as a problem needed to be fixed, and older adults are considered to be frail and incompetent. Not surprisingly, many of the technologies developed for the use of older adults focus on care. The exclusion of older adults from the research and design of digital technology is often based on such negative stereotypes. In this opinion article, we argue that the inclusion rather than exclusion of older adults in the design process and research of digital technology is essential if technology is to fulfill the promise of improving well-being. We emphasize why this is important while also providing guidelines, evidence from the literature, and examples on how to do so. We unequivocally state that designers and researchers should make every effort to ensure the involvement of older adults in the design process and research of digital technology. Based on this paper, we suggest that ageism in the design process of digital technology might play a role as a possible barrier of adopting technology., peer-reviewed
- Published
- 2019