Design and Development of a Mobile-based Caretaking System for the Elderly People in Thailand: A Design Thinking Approach

Abstract

As the ageing population has become a global phenomenon in the past few decades, it has brought several issues to many countries (e.g., aged care). Thailand has one of the highest ageing populations in the region, which has challenged society to find a feasible solution for promoting the elderly's quality of life while considering the vital role of caregivers in the aged care context. Thanks to the advances in ubiquitous mobile computing, mobile-based applications have become promising for the aged care sector. However, a limited number of mobile-based applications can cater to the needs of the elderly and caregivers, particularly in Thailand. Using the design thinking approach, we developed an innovative elderly caretaking system called 'Aegis' to effectively manage aged care by caregivers. Using this system, the elderly can effectively communicate with their caregivers, while the latter can easily support what the elderly need. We conducted a usability evaluation of 'Aegis' with three elderly-caregiver pairs in Thailand. The findings show that the 'Aegis' is useful in promoting the quality of life for the elderly and caregivers while considering the importance of user-friendly interface design and experiences. The usability recommendations suggested by this study can help HCI researchers understand design guidelines for intergenerational digital technologies.