Considering people living with dementia when designing interfaces

Abstract

Dementia is an escalating problem which is estimated to affect 35.6 million people worldwide. In an environment which is becoming increasingly dependent on technology, the interaction needs of people living with dementia is being ignored by interface designers. This paper aims to highlight the factors which should be considered when designing interfaces to be "dementia- friendly". The article draws on the limited previous research to suggest that interfaces need to consider two main factors: personalisation (which includes both accessibility and usability) and user acceptance (including the experience produced by the interfaces and barriers to technology adoption). © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.