Digital technology for elders better living: a usability and user-experience assessment

Abstract

The population aging phenomenon has been increasing in the last years and will become prevailing in the future ones. In the era of Healthcare 4.0, the application of information and communication technologies (ICT) is the main enabler for the health and social care sectors, advancing user-centered care and preventing or delaying frailty conditions. This work focuses on a preliminary usability and user experience (UX) assessment regarding a self-monitoring device, smartphone, and tablet, with a 5-users sample. The user interface layout and content of smartphone and tablet have been previously simplified according to the human-computer interaction principles, to hinder the digital divide inherent to the Silver Generation. Structured and semi-structured interviews have been conducted to evaluate users' expectations, familiarity, and acceptance of ICT devices. A specific assessment protocol has been designed to evaluate the usability of devices. Preliminary results show that all participants were able to complete the test with few committed errors. However, even if a good inclination toward the use of smart technologies emerged, the need for digital mediation and individual training sessions is undisputed.