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Claudia Hildebrand Institute for Biological and Medical Imaging WG Medis – Medical Informationsystems Methodology for involving elderly people in social networking
Claudia Hildebrand Institute for Biological and Medical Imaging WG Medis – Medical Informationsystems
Methodology for involving elderly people
in social networking
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Content
Introduction to the project
Overwiew
Objectives
Research Issues
Methodology for social networking of elderly persons
Assumptions
Methods
Preliminary Results
Outlook
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The Project
Join-In / Mach-mit Senior citizens overcoming
barriers by joining fun activities
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Goal of the project
To build a social network for elderly homebound people
To develop attractive age-specific socialising activities as
part of the network
Helping people to escape social isolation by
Supporting people to set up and maintain contacts to
the “outside world”
Encouraging and increasing communication
Providing a methodology and the technologies for
elderly persons to participate in social activities and
have fun via digital media
Join-In Social Platform
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Customised Controllers
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Motivation
Elderly people often face isolation Often live alone Handicapped and cannot leave their homes
Social isolation often results in poor health Happy & content people are healthier Socialising counteracts the onset of many diseases Computer Games train cognitive skills, reaction times, and
self-esteem Exercising contributes to mental and physical health Demographic Reasons
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Demographic aging - Europe
By 2050 the median age in EU27 will be 48 years
Year Total Population
Percentage 50+
1999 82,2 m 35% 2009 82,0 m 40% 2019 80,3 m 47%
Forecast Germany
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HMGU Tasks
Project Coordination
Development
Social network
Video Conferencing
Exercises
Evaluation
Involvement
Requirement analysis
Piloting
Exploitation plan
Methodology
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Join-In
Methodology for involving elderly people in social networking
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Goal
Attracting elderly (homebound) persons
to get interested in social networking
to join the network and to become active
to be active
to stay active
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Assumption
Get interested
Get started Be active Stay
active
Analyse the Target Group
Analyse the Barriers
Analyse the Interests
Address the Target Group
Remove Barriers
Meet the interests
Motivation Information & Training
Usability of the System
Motivation
Attend to the users
Marketing
Extendibility System
Motivation
Infrastructure
Marketing
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Methods
Literature study
User analysis favourite activities and games
fears
daily activities
attitude towards exercising
and exergames
technical preliminaries
Piloting
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Definition of the Target Group
Elderly are a very heterogeneous group; no identifiable target group Many different classification schemes, e.g. age, behaviour, interests,
consuming habits, health care needs
Addressing the elderly
Elderly do not consider themselves as being old
Beware of stigmatising
Acceptance of a technology/ service does not depend on its
prize, yet elderly do not like to take financial risks
Elderly rely on their own experience and on recommendations from
friends more than other age groups
Elderly are less confident in their own abilities
Many elderly have to cope with physical limitations
Vision Decline Demand on Light
Hearing Age
Dem
and
on L
ight
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Age related cognitive decline
http://youcanstaysharp.com/
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Interests /Activities
Family
Contact to others
Communication
Nature/garden
TV
Leisure
Seniors like to feel they are “needed”
For the elderly an activity has to be meaningful to be pursued
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Key Barriers Identified
Affordability of the technologies
Computer illiteracy
Fears
Mishandling the technology /technophobia
Incompetence with the technologies
Loosing their privacy & lack of data protection
Afraid “the technology will be controlling their lifestyles
and behavioural changes will be required
Lacking motivation
Not seeing the benefits
Missing skills
Lacking Confidence
Get interested
Get started Be active Stay
active
Access to Technologies
Address Fears
Meet the interests
Motivation Create confidence
Target Group
Barriers Access to Technologies
Missing Motivation
Lack of Confidence
Interests
Fears
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Access to the Technologies
Affordable
Accessible
Usable
user-based design and development
easy to use (few functionalities)
adaptable and customisable
clear layout
Secure
Closed Network
Training
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Creating Confidence
Results from User Analysis Fears towards the new technology can be counteracted by
intensive support and involvement of the user The acceptance of the project and its products correlate with the
trust in the researchers and the knowledge that any involvement is voluntary
Exergames raise the users’ confidence and motivate them to try something new
Exergames were well liked by the elderly
Creating Confidence Provide trust Improve the skills
Information Training
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Motivation in Elderly - Motivation Concepts Motivation, as used in psychology, is the force that initiates and guides
behaviour. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (often used in education and social
studies) Intrinsic motivation is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the
task itself, and exists within the individual. It does not rely on any external pressure.
Extrinsic motivation is driven by external incentives such as money, grades, or prizes.
Indications that Women are more intrinsically motivated than men Elderly people are mostly intrinsically motivated
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Motivation in Elderly- Quality-of-Life in the Elderly
Quality-of-Life is determined by psychological, social and physiological
factors
Poor pension adequacy, living in a deprived area, poor health, having
recently had a bad experience, result in a lower Quality-of-Life
No single factor could be found that determines Quality-of-Life
Social contact per se cannot be attributed benefit – for some people it
means stress and conflict
The mental and emotional state of a person plays the largest part in
determining his/her feeling of well–being
Age-related limitations have little influence on the QoL of very old
persons
Subjective wellbeing refers mostly to a positive outlook on life
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Motivation in Elderly - Loneliness
Distinguish
Social loneliness - lack of social integration and embeddedness
Emotional loneliness - a reliable “partner, friend” is missing
Aloneness, isolation, lack of social support Depression
Results
No clear relationship between age and loneliness There seems to be an indication that married persons feel less
lonely
Parents feel less lonely -even if the child lives far away
No clear indication on any differences between women and men
Loneliness seems to depend on a person’s personality
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Motivation - Elderly in Rehabilitation
Self-efficacy is a determinant
Depends on intrinsic/extrinsic motivation Negative influences
Perceived Cost: money, risk of failure, pain, fatigue Inclination to remain sedentary: perceived value of avoiding the
exercise Positive influences
Perceived chance of success If the users feel an exercise is important to them they are more
likely to do it
Being an expert in their own care encourages the individual
Doing exercises with people (same age group) in the same situation encourages most people
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Motivation-Live-long Learning
There is no age limit to learning
The brain can build new synapses between its neurons and
thus increase its efficiency live-long
Neurogenesis which supports learning and the potential of the
brain takes place all through adults‘ life
Physical activity has a positive effect on the creation of new
neurons
Concentration and thoroughness increase with age
Curiosity and the desire to study are not age-related
Assumption – Involving Users
Get interested Join & become active Be
active Stay
active
Target Group
Barriers Access to Technologies
Missing Motivation
Lack of Confidence
Interests
Fears
Motivation
Show Benefits
Usability
Motivation in the Elderly
Improve Skills
Beneficial & attractive technologies
Confidence Improve Skills
Create Trust
Address Fears
Match Interests
Access to Technologies
Training
Accessibility
Usability
Affordability
Security
Literacy
Usability of the System
Motivation
Attend to the users
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How to get the elderly to be active in Join-In
Motivation
Keep on demonstrating the benefits
Provide learning effects
Emphasise that social networking is
supporting the user, but that it is the user doing it
Usability of the social network
Easy to use
Robust, reliable
Adaptable to the users‘ diversities
Provide a helpline
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Attend to the User
Set up groups with people in the same situation
Meet the interests of the users
Include useful functions
Keep telling the users why they are using the social network
Mastery of information is very important to the elderly; they are
and want to be experts in what they are doing
Be attentive, take your time
Regular contacts/events
Consistency is very important for elderly persons
Acknowledge that the elderly is taking part and what he/she
accomplished
Increase the users’ self-efficacy
Assumption – Involving Users
Get interested Join & become active Be
active Stay
active
Target Group
Barriers Access to Technologies
Missing Motivation
Lack of Confidence
Interests
Fears
Motivation
Show Benefits
Usability
Motivation in the Elderly
Improve Skills
Beneficial & attractive technologies
Confidence Improve Skills
Create Trust
Address Fears
Match Interests
Access to Technologies
Training
Accessibility
Usability
Affordability
Security
Literacy
Technology
Reliable
Useful
Usable
Adaptable
Motivation Show benefits
Positive feedback Enable the user
Attend to users
Extendibility System
Motivation
Infrastructure
Marketing
Marketing
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How to get the elderly to stay active in Join-In
Motivation
Elderly have to stay motivated
Elderly have to keep seeing the benefits
Keep the users interested
Support by positive reinforcement and constant feedback
Provide an attractive community
Be attentive
Infrastructure
Service
Technology
Marketing
Methodology – Involving Users
Get interested Join & become active Be
active Stay
active
Target Group
Barriers Access to Technologies
Missing Motivation
Lack of Confidence
Interests
Fears
Motivation
Show Benefits
Usability
Motivation in the Elderly
Improve Skills
Beneficial & attractive technologies
Confidence Improve Skills
Create Trust
Address Fears
Match Interests
Access to Technologies
Training
Accessibility
Usability
Affordability
Security
Literacy
Motivation
Technology
Reliable
Useful
Usable
Adaptable
Motivation Show benefits
Positive feedback Enable the user
Attend to users
Technology Extendable
Show benefits Positive feedback Enable the user
Infra-structure Technology
Attendance
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Summary - Preliminary results
Provide affordable, secure and usable technologies to a target group that has been clearly defined
Meet the users‘ interests and include functions that the user considers as useful
Provide training to overcome computer illiteracy and to provide the necessary skills
Gaining new skills will make the elderly confident Encourage the elderly to act as contributor to her/his own
motivation, behaviour and development Provide information to the users; if the users feel an activity is
important to them they are more likely to do it Provide trust and attendance to the elderly users Set up groups with people in the same situation; this often
encourages the elderly user
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Outlook
Computer literacy
Involvement homebound persons
Research other issues in more detail
Do the piloting
Evaluate the assumptions
Assess whether there are any
differences in different countries
– mainly Hungary and Germany
Thank you for your attention Thanks to
Jutta Balint José López Bolós Alfred Breier Hans Demski Phillip Steiner Stefanie Wengel
