Evaluating User Centered Design of E-Health for Older Adults

Abstract

Health care related technology, or E-health, has the potential to lessen the impact of the growing aging population on the health care system and support older adults' preference for aging in place. However, for technologies to be adopted by older users, research is needed to understand older adults' unique health care needs, their preferences for support, and their perceptions of technologies designed for health care. Specifically directed toward older users, this article highlights the need for user-centered design and the implications for technology acceptance, and describes studies that employed systematic subjective methods such as focus groups, interviews, and questionnaires to provide a rich, detailed depiction of older users' interactions with E-health. User-centered design evaluations involving older adults can help designers create products and services that are more likely to be adopted by older adult end users.