Video Modeling for Training Older Adults to Use New Technologies

Does XR introduce experience asymmetry in an intergenerational setting?

Intergenerational social interactions are beneficial for bridging generational gaps, strengthening family bonds, and improving social cohesiveness. However, opportunities for in-person intergenerational social interactions are decreasing as families become increasingly geographically dispersed. Researchers are examining how technology might support these interactions. Extended Reality (XR) is an emerging technology that has shown potential for supporting immersive remote interactions but might cause an "experience asymmetry" in an intergenerational setting. In this poster we contrast the user experience of younger and older participants engaging in remote gardening sessions with our social XR prototypes. We present systemic influence factors that affected user experience of participants from different age groups differently with our XR prototypes. We discuss potential approaches to mitigate their effects based on observational learning and becoming aware of designer biases.

Older adults who smoke: Do they engage with and benefit from web-based smoking cessation interventions?

Quitting smoking at any age increases life expectancy, but older adults face barriers to receiving cessation services. Despite the promise of web-based smoking cessation interventions to help address access barriers, whether older adults who participate in smoking cessation programs engage with and benefit from these tools at the same rate as younger adults remains unknown. In this secondary analysis, we compared engagement and satisfaction with two web-based smoking cessation interventions and quit rates between older, middle-aged, and young adults in the United States enrolled in the WebQuit trial between March 2014 and August 2015. Participants were divided into age groups: older (60 years and older, n = 439/2637), middle-aged (40-59 years, n = 1308/2637), and young adults (18-39 years, n = 890/2637). Treatment engagement and satisfaction, and 12-month quit rates (self-reported complete-case 30-day PPA and missing-as-smoking) were compared between groups. Older adults engaged more with the websites than young adults through multiple indicators of intervention engagement (i.e., number of sessions, unique days of use, and time spent on the site), and older adults spent more time on the site per session than their counterparts. Satisfaction with websites was high (81%) and non-differential between groups. Older and middle-aged adults quit smoking at a similar rate as younger adults (24%, 24%, 27%, respectively, p = 0.905). Older and middle-aged adults who participated in a web-delivered smoking cessation intervention engaged more with the intervention than their younger counterparts and they quit smoking at a similar rate, thereby demonstrating high acceptability and potential of digital interventions to help older adults quit smoking. Trial registration:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT1166334.

Bridging the Digital Divide for Older Adults via Observational Training: Effects of Model Identity from a Generational Perspective

The proliferation of technology offers potential solutions for enhancing the well-being of older adults. However, older adults often have low digital literacy and are disengaged from the digital world. With age-appropriate training, older adults are expected to acquire a wide range of technological skills and bridge the digital divide. Through the lens of social cognitive theory, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of observational training through behavior modeling in enhancing technology acceptance in older adults. The moderating effects of model identity on training outcomes from a generational perspective are examined. An empirical training experiment was completed with 59 community-dwelling older adults. Training outcomes were measured using cognitive knowledge, affective variables, and meta-cognition. The results ascertain the effectiveness of observational training in improving their technological knowledge, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and sense of social connectedness when using technologies. From a generational perspective, the older adult behavior model is more effective than the young or child behavior models in increasing self-efficacy and willingness to use technology. The model identity further enhances the positive outcomes of training. The results of this study contribute to designing educational interventions to bridge the digital divide.

Comparison of prompting procedures to teach internet skills to older adults

The Internet and information and communications technologies (ICTs) have been found to produce meaningful social interactions and greater social support among older adults (White et al., ). Despite these benefits, the Internet and ICTs are not widely used among the older-adult population (Cresci, Yarandi, & Morrell, ). The purpose of the current study was to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of video prompting and text-based instructions on the acquisition of three tablet-based tasks: emailing, video calling (FaceTime® application), and searching for a YouTube™ video. Both video prompting and text-based instructions were effective for all three participants, with text-based instructions being slightly more efficient for one participant and video prompting being more efficient for two participants, suggesting that both prompting procedures can be used to teach older adults Internet and ICT skills.

Teach or Design? How Older Adults’ Use of Ticket Vending Machines Could Be More Effective

The dominance of computer technology in work and leisure poses challenges for older people. Their lack of computer experience and computer literacy impedes their ability to explore and use new interactive systems. This is particularly challenging for the design of public access systems, such as ticket vending machines (TVM). This article describes a conflict relevant for many designers considering age-related differences in technology use: should the user be taught to use the existing design or should the design be changed to accommodate older users? An experiment was conducted to directly compare these alternative approaches with each other and with a simulation of an existing TVM. It compares three TVM designs regarding the usability criteria of effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction, controlling for age, and cognitive and motivational characteristics. 62 older (M = 68 years) and 62 younger (M = 25 years) participants were split into three groups: The control group solved 11 tasks using a simulation of the TVM, the video group watched a brief instructional video before solving the same tasks with the same TVM, and the wizard group used a redesigned wizard interface instead. Results indicate that young and old participants’ performance improved after watching the video, but older participants improved more, reaching the effectiveness of the young control group. In the wizard condition, age differences in effectiveness and satisfaction were eliminated; however, speed differences remained in all conditions. The results suggest that the simple integration of minimal video instruction or a task-oriented wizard design can make public access systems truly universally usable, and that the wizard TVM was a true “walk-up-and-use system.”

Digital Solutions for Informed Decision Making: An Academic-Community Partnership for the Development of a Prostate Cancer Decision Aid for African American Men

African American (AA) men are significantly more likely to die of prostate cancer (PrCA) than other racial groups, and there is a critical need to identify strategies for providing information about PrCA screening and the importance of informed decision making (IDM). To assess whether a computer-based IDM intervention for PrCA screening would be appropriate for AA men, this formative evaluation study examined their (1) PrCA risk and screening knowledge; (2) decision-making processes for PrCA screening; (3) usage of, attitudes toward, and access to interactive communication technologies (ICTs); and (4) perceptions regarding a future, novel, computer-based PrCA education intervention. A purposive convenience sample of 39 AA men aged 37 to 66 years in the Southeastern United States was recruited through faith-based organizations to participate in one of six 90-minute focus groups and complete a 45-item descriptive survey. Participants were generally knowledgeable about PrCA. However, few engaged in IDM with their doctor and few were informed about the associated risks and uncertainties of PrCA screening. Most participants used ICTs on a daily basis for various purposes including health information seeking. Most participants were open to a novel, computer-based intervention if the system was easy to use and its animated avatars were culturally appropriate. Because study participants had low exposure to IDM for PrCA, but frequently used ICTs, IDM interventions using ICTs (e.g., computers) hold promise for AA men and should be explored for feasibility and effectiveness. These interventions should aim to increase PrCA screening knowledge and stress the importance of participating in IDM with doctors.

Audio-Enhanced Tablet Computers to Assess Children's Food Frequency From Migrant Farmworker Mothers

This study sought to improve data collection in children's food frequency surveys for non-English speaking immigrant/migrant farmworker mothers using audio-enhanced tablet computers (ATCs). We hypothesized that by using technological adaptations, we would be able to improve data capture and therefore reduce lost surveys. This Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), a paper-based dietary assessment tool, was adapted for ATCs and assessed consumption of 66 food items asking 3 questions for each food item: frequency, quantity of consumption, and serving size. The tablet-based survey was audio enhanced with each question "read" to participants, accompanied by food item images, together with an embedded short instructional video. Results indicated that respondents were able to complete the 198 questions from the 66 food item FFQ on ATCs in approximately 23 minutes. Compared with paper-based FFQs, ATC-based FFQs had less missing data. Despite overall reductions in missing data by use of ATCs, respondents still appeared to have difficulty with question 2 of the FFQ. Ability to score the FFQ was dependent on what sections missing data were located. Unlike the paper-based FFQs, no ATC-based FFQs were unscored due to amount or location of missing data. An ATC-based FFQ was feasible and increased ability to score this survey on children's food patterns from migrant farmworker mothers. This adapted technology may serve as an exemplar for other non-English speaking immigrant populations.

Myths about older people's use of information and communication technology

This paper discusses six myths common in the field of 'human-computer interaction (HCI) and older people'. These myths are widespread among computer scientists, engineers and programmers, as well as among the general public and even older individuals themselves. We can define these myths as follows. (1) Just wait and see. Future generations of older people will use computers without problems. This myth differs from those following, as it may lead to a (dangerous) conclusion of avoidance and inactivity by integrating myths 2-6. If the other myths are accepted as being true and one assumes that the problems will eventually solve themselves, it might not seem worthwhile to expend any effort on 'universal design' for older people's use of information and communication technology (ICT). However, we argue that if we do not actively and properly counteract these myths, we will perpetuate them and their grave consequences. (2) Older people are not interested in using computers. They are unaware of computer capabilities. (3) Older people consider computers as useless and unnecessary. (4) Older people lack the physical capabilities to use ICT. (5) Older people simply cannot understand interactive computing technology. (6) You can't teach an old dog new tricks. The problem of HCI for older people is that they do not learn to use new technologies and interaction techniques. In discussing these myths, we demonstrate that each one contains a grain of truth. However, the myths are improperly overgeneralized and, therefore, often wrong. Such myths are problematic. Designers and engineers often accept them as truths and neglect older users and/or apply information and communication technologies in an age-discriminating manner. Furthermore, the myths are problematic as they lead older people to avoid computer usage (i.e. a self-fulfilling prophecy). We present evidence to support the notion that these myths may often be largely - although not completely - wrong. We then demonstrate how they can be counteracted through user-centered design, training and instruction.