Design guidelines and checklists are suggested as a useful tool in the development and evaluation of interface design of mobile phones for older adults. Given the intense evolution of mobile phone ...design, understanding how the design guidelines and checklists have taken into account the advances in mobile phone usability for older adults is important for their correct application and future development. Thus, this study explores the usability dimensions of mobile phone design for older adults and the related changes in terms of time and the type of device (feature phones vs. smartphones) based on an expert coding of the eight mobile phone design guidelines and checklists for older adults published between 2006 and 2014. The results of the expert coding show that design guidelines and checklists most frequently deal with visual and haptic issues (e.g., high contrast, button type, and button size), whilst they hardly ever address various elements of textual interface (e.g., ease of text entry, a button's feedback, and font type). Over time, the design guidelines and checklists have become more complex in terms of the average number of included usability categories and dimensions. For smartphones, the guidelines, on average, put more emphasis on the screen, touchscreen, text, and exterior related issues, whereas the design guidelines for feature phones stress the usability of the keypad and menus. Besides revealing potential usability dimensions that could be further expanded in the guidelines, this study also highlights the need for research that would empirically validate the design guidelines and checklists in the future.
Launchers have been suggested as a viable means of increasing the uptake of smartphones and assistive technologies (ATs) among older adults. Launchers can be designed to ease older adults' use of ...smartphones by addressing perceptual, cognitive, and motoric changes that might hinder their ability to operate smartphones. However, little research currently exists that analyses the characteristics and assesses the usability of launchers with an adapted user interface (UI) for older adults. Thus, we present a study in which we compared a set of commercialised smartphone launchers with an adapted UI and ATs for older adults by means of heuristic evaluation. The results showed that launchers generally integrate only basic features (i.e., calls, texting, contacts) and only one AT (i.e., an SOS service). Although considerable variation exists between them in terms of overall usability, we also report the limited adequacy of launcher UIs in meeting older adults' needs and abilities. In particular, usability problems linked to content and perception were discovered that limit the older adults’ capability for error recovery as well as visual, auditory, and haptic access to the information provided by the UI. Interestingly, launchers with a larger number of features and ATs were found to have, on average, less usability problems. This indicates that reducing the number of features is not necessarily a feasible way to increase usability. Instead, more research-based development is needed, which should better consider recommendations for the age-friendly design of UIs on smartphones.
•Smartphone launchers for older adults are examined with heuristic evaluation.•Smartphone launchers support only basic phone features and assistive technologies.•On average smartphone launchers respect 54.5% of the evaluated sub-heuristics.•Heuristics of dexterity, visual design, and navigation are well respected.•The largest proportion of usability problems is related to content and perception.
Hiter razvoj in vedno večja vloga informacijsko-komunikacijskih tehnologij zahtevata bolj razvite digitalne spretnosti posameznikov. Prispevek se osredotoča na koncepta digitalnih spretnosti in ...reševanja problemov v tehnološko bogatih okoljih, ki bosta obravnavana tudi na podlagi empiričnih podatkov, pridobljenih v mednarodni študiji PIAAC. V uvodnem delu je podan pregled literature in so predstavljeni rezultati predhodnih raziskav s področja merjenja digitalnih spretnosti ter podatki o uporabi storitev informacijske družbe med članicami Evropske unije. V drugem delu članka analiziramo rezultate, pridobljene v študiji PIAAC. Ti rezultati so pokazali, da imata največji vpliv na uspešnost reševanja problemov v tehnološko bogatih okoljih starost in izobrazba, kar potrjujejo tudi rezultati drugih raziskav. Prispevek zaključujemo s predlogi za izboljšanje trenutnega stanja vključenosti vseh skupin prebivalstva v programe usposabljanja na področju digitalnih spretnosti.
Assistive applications (apps) on smartphones could contribute to a better quality of life for seniors living independently at home. At present, there is a lack of empirical evidence of seniors' ...acceptance of such apps. The Cycle of Technology Acquirement by Independent-Living Seniors (C-TAILS) model was recently proposed for studying the interplay between acceptance factors by integrating the personal, social and technological domains of seniors' daily lives. This study aimed to explore how four groups of factors, clustered in accordance with the C-TAILS model, predict seniors' interest in assistive apps, on a representative sample of the Slovenian population aged 55 years or older. The 617 respondents, who were contacted though a telephone survey, answered a questionnaire about their interest in three groups of assistive apps and four groups of potentially associated acceptance factors. Three linear regression models were used to analyse the association between the factors and the seniors' interest in the three types of assistive apps. Smartphone-related dispositional traits were the strongest predictors across all three models. Among mobile phone usage patterns, smartphone use and the breadth of mobile phone features used were significant factors, while the significance of seniors' personal characteristics and socio-economic conditions varied across the models. Hence, awareness that these factors play different roles in the acceptance of different assistive apps is needed in order to design viable interventions for their acceptance among seniors.
Because of population aging, home-based e-care services (HBECSs) have raised interest among users and service providers. Recently, scholars have focused extensively on the needs and motives of older ...adults as care receivers that shape their pre-implementation acceptance of such technologies. Yet, little is known to date about post-implementation experiences and interrelationships between acceptance factors of market-ready services among care receivers and caregivers. To fill this research gap, an intervention study lasting up to eight weeks tested three market-ready HBECSs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven informal caregivers and six care receivers. Qualitative analysis combining grounded theory with thematic analysis was used to present a thematic description of participants' experiences and inductively develop a substantive model of HBECS acceptance and use. The results detail the impact and expected benefits of such technologies and various barriers to HBECSs use in conjunction with their functionalities and users' social interactions. Acceptance and future use are determined by a complex mix of interrelated factors. These range from contextual circumstances to characteristics of the caregivers and care receivers to the service properties and perceived outcomes of use, such as safety, psychological relief, and peace of mind.
With the closing of the age-related gap in mobile phone uptake and the aging of the population, older adults have increasingly become a desirable target group for mobile phone providers. Although ...there is abundant literature describing the use of mobile phones among older adults, segmentation studies on this group of consumers remain scant and inconclusive. Drawing on the benefit and behavioral segmentation, this study presents a segmentation model of older adults in the mobile phone market that incorporates a wide variety of consumer behavior, attitudinal, and acceptance variables relevant for the understanding of mobile phone (non-)usage patterns among users of feature phones and smartphones, as well as among mobile phone nonusers. The model is based on a hybrid approach with a two-step cluster analysis using data collected by a telephone survey from a representative sample (n = 1,581) of adults aged 55 or older in Slovenia in 2015. The analysis yielded two uniquely profiled clusters within each of the five a priori-determined segments, summing to a total of 10 clusters. The results show that older adults still prefer feature phones. Nevertheless, the mobile phone market has become highly heterogeneous, with clusters of older adults having distinguishable feature phone- and smartphone-use patterns as well as socio-demographic and life-course profiles. Since many of these profiles undermine the notion of older adults as "basic" mobile phone users, our findings represent a solid foundation for scholars and marketers to further investigate their specific needs in relation to more advanced smartphone and mobile internet usage.
Sense of community is analyzed in two very different types of neighborhoods in Ljubljana, Slovenia: a large housing estate and a middle-class neighborhood of individual houses. The main research ...question posed is which individual characteristics are associated with sense of community in the two neighborhoods. A specific addition to current knowledge involves the inclusion of values as important characteristics associated with sense of community. The analysis was made on a quota sample of 337 individuals. Sense of community was shown to be comprised of three factors: (1) contact with neighbors; (2) social control; and (3) attachment. We observed this separately in the two neighborhoods. The analysis showed that values significantly increase the model's explanatory power and that the two neighborhoods differ significantly in terms of which variables are important for sense of community, therefore indicating that this could be highly context-dependent. In addition, qualitative data are used to illustrate the sense of community in the two neighborhoods.
Accidental falls and physical inactivity are important age-related issues for which smart technologies have demonstrated potential utility. This research aimed to explore the benefits of combining ...wearable activity monitors and telecare for older adults. A four-month interventional study was conducted between June 2021 and February 2022 in Slovenia. A purposive sample of 22 dyads of older adults aged 60 years and over and their relatives or family members used a wearable GoLiveClip device. The Pillar Integration Process was used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data. Seven pillars emerged: (1) the use of smart technologies as a motivator for physical activity; (2) factors related to smart technology use affecting physical activity levels; (3) increased usefulness of smart technologies for users who completed the study; (4) activity monitoring as the most useful functionality of the solution; (5) the influence of technical problems on usefulness; (6) the influence of age and previous experience with smart technologies on usefulness; and (7) moderate psychological effects of smart technology use. Activity trackers were found to effectively promote physical activity in older adults, and safety features were shown to be an important part of the solution, regardless of health status or physical activity level.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created and exacerbated emotional, financial, and technical challenges for informal caregivers of older people. The aim of this study was to explore the caregiving situation ...and subjective burden of informal caregivers of older family members during COVID-19, and to investigate how a caregiving situation's characteristics predict the subjective burden of care in times of COVID-19. The study was conducted in April and May 2021 via an online access panel. The sample (n = 612) was determined using a screening test that enabled us to focus on a Slovenian population of informal caregivers aged 40+ caring for a person aged 65+ for at least four hours/week on average. Our findings reveal that the subjective burden of care was high among informal caregivers during COVID-19. Multiple regression analysis showed that the provision of activities of daily living, care duration, average hours of care per week, formal care status, and recipients' health problems related to dementia or other memory problems significantly predicted the subjective burden of caregivers. These findings call for better recognition of the role of informal caregivers. The time and effort devoted to informal care should be supported by legislation and social security.
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