Comparison of the use of text and multimedia interfaces to provide information to the elderly

Abstract

This report describes an experiment in which 64 elderly participants, average age 71 , used (1) a text-only or (2) a multimedia computer interface to obtain information--in this case, about prescription drugs. The participants, non e of whom had used a computer before, compared the computerized information systems to a more traditional 'interface' of words printed on paper. Results indicate that, for this group of elders, who were recruited from a seniors' group at a college, a multimedia presentation was better than a text-only screen or a printed leaflet, on both performance and preference measures. Difficulty with reading due to vision problems associated with aging was the most commonly cited reason for preferring the multimedia system. While men preferred both computer interfaces to the leaflet, women liked only the multimedia system and expressed very negative feelings about the text-only interface.