Background information
Research on the GOALD project went through 5 phases to prepare our final toolkit.
The GOALD toolkit
Design considerations for development of technologies to support physical and mental activity for older adults
This toolkit has been developed from ESRC-funded research conducted as part of the
Generating Older Active Lives Digitally (GOALD) project
at the Â鶹´«Ã½ and University of Stirling.
This toolkit has been created for an intended audience of technology developers to support with the future creation of digital products for older adults with a focus on physical activity. It is made up of three sections:
- General recommendations for all technologies designed for older adults.
- Virtual Reality (VR) sub section for those working with immersive technologies, and including end-user priorities.
- Physical activity platforms sub section (i.e. websites, apps, games), including end-user priorities.
The recommendations included here are based on the thoughts and input of the GOALD participants and will not form an exhaustive list of potential design requirements for safe, inclusive and accessible technologies.
Phase 1 – Recruitment and baseline information phase
184 participants took part from 11 community groups and 7 care homes. From these participants 145 were older adults (60+ years), 6 were younger adults (16–30 years) and 33 were staff/group facilitators. Participants completed baseline information questionnaires to allow us to understand their lifestyles, current technology perceptions/use and levels of activity.
Phase 2 – Menu of technology offerings
Participants were presented with over 20 technologies linked to physical activity, reminiscence and social connectivity to provide familiarisation with technologies and an overview of technology already available. Participants gave initial thoughts and opinions on the technologies, and offered their preference on those they would like to try. Technologies included VR, AI voice technology, mobile applications, websites and more.
Phase 3 – Technology sessions and feedback
Participants were invited to try technologies they were interested in from the menu offering. This either took place in person with the researchers, or independently within their own home. Initial reactions were captured during face-to-face interactions. These sessions allowed participants to familiarise themselves with the technology, enabling them to give informed design considerations for future technologies. Each group of participants were then invited to a formal evaluations focus group/interview to give their thoughts on the technology as well as their motivators for use, potential benefits, barriers and improvements.
Phase 4 – Formal co-design workshops
Based on the results from phase 3, two areas of technology/intervention were identified as priority for co-design: i) VR for physical activity and access to places and spaces, and ii) online physical activity platforms. These sessions involved participants ranking priorities for the technologies, based on feedback throughout phase 3, as well as creative design sessions to capture ideas for future technologies.
Phase 5 – Toolkit creation
Recommendations presented are based on thematic analysis of participant preferences in phase 3 and participant co-design ideas in phase 4. Thematic analysis means the recommendations are based on patterns seen across the data set.
Toolkits were then sent to a selection of SMEs who used them for their own technology design interactions and then provided feedback on toolkit for final improvements.
Importance of co-design
Co-design involves engaging key stakeholders in the early stages of product design. Stakeholders may include potential end-users (older adults themselves, community groups), those required to procure, implement and facilitate product use (care home staff, activity co-ordinators, managers) and wider organisations (health professionals). Through co-design activities we develop actionable ways to improve a product or design a new meaningful solution together. Research has supported the importance of user-centred design approaches by demonstrating significant differences in design preferences between developers and end-users (Bradwell et al., 2019). Numerous technologies developed in isolation of end-users fail to succeed, while involvement of end-users in the design process enhances likelihood of acceptability and adoption.
Case studies
To discover how our toolkit might be useful to you, here are some examples of design improvements made by SMEs who have previously worked in collaboration with the GOALD project and used our toolkit.
Technologies
Find out more details about the different technologies demonstrated to participants during our co-design process.
Our toolkit
These recommendations have been produced from a full thematic analysis undertaken on audio recordings from participants phase 3 technology perceptions and phase 4 co-design ideas. A thematic analysis is a method of analysing qualitative data (text produced from focus groups/interviews) which involves the systematic reviewing of text for common threads which are identified through familiarisation, initial code forming, collating codes into themes and checking and refining. All data was coded by at least 2 researchers to allow for checking of validity of interpretation.
Within the VR and physical activity platform subsections, you will also find examples of priority feature ranking. To identify these priorities, we produced feature cards (based on the feedback received during interaction sessions) which participants ranked from low priority to high priority. The ranking can be used to help inform the development of your product design to meet the end-user ‘wishlist’.
Creating a priority feature ranking may be a useful way for you to engage end-users and explore what design features of your product are of most and least importance to them. Our example rankings may be useful if relevant to your specific product, or give you an idea of how to create your own.
General recommendations
Motivation
How will people be motivated to use your product? These are some factors people find motivating:
- Social connection and fun – providing a community, connecting with friends, family or other community groups/care homes.
- Gamification principles – competitions, using badges and rewards for achievements.
- Benefits of technology/product – older adults felt the products increased their levels of activity and confidence. People reported feeling benefits of being more active. People gain a sense of enjoyment, fun and social engagement. The products helped keep the mind and body active, allowing for reminiscence and relaxation. Some technologies provide an educational learning opportunity. Based on these outcomes, older adults had a desire to continue using the technologies.
Content
Have you thought about what exercise or activity your technology will focus on? Think about:
- Type of activity – ensure a choice of exercises; GOALD participants had a particular interest in dancing, strength training, swimming and personal training/coaching.
- Relatable content for engagement – use older styles of dancing and music for reminiscence, a variety of cultural content and general variety to avoid boredom over longer term engagement.
- Intensity – provide choice of intensity with easy and hard versions of the same content, provide progressive exercises, ensure warmups and cool downs are included.
- Duration – short sessions (20–30 minutes) are desirable and more manageable, but choice is key.
- Variety of content – provide variety of songs and content, singing and music are enjoyable, repetitive content should be avoided.
Barriers
Have you thought about the barriers that may hinder older adults in using your technology? Such barriers can lead to frustration and disengagement. Think about:
- Injury concerns – how do you make sure people use good form and conduct their movements correctly? What do you do to ensure safety?
- Accessibility (physical capabilities) – how accessible is your technology? Have you thought about the level of fitness required to start using your technology? Consider previous injuries or mobility issues (e.g. wheelchair users). Consider tremors and dexterity for interaction with the technology.
- Accessibility (technology) – consider how much technology experience and literacy people will need to use and understand your product. Ensure your product is competitive (affordable or different to currently available technologies). Does your product require internet connection, how easy will it be to connect (e.g. is it as simple to use as a TV)?
- Accessibility (space and social context) – will people need access to specific facilities? How much space in people’s own homes or in their care home will they need? How difficult is the physical set-up of the technology?
Design / Inclusivity considerations
What design and inclusivity considerations have you taken into account? Think about:
- Infrastructure usability – have you ensured the option for login details to be saved for ease of use? Is it possible for your product to learn and remember users’ activities with the product?
- Tailoring/filtering – could you include filters for people to find relevant content and activities (e.g. filtered by age, date uploaded, activity type, intensity)? Have you considered including the ability to save and re-watch live sessions and content?
- Suitability of hardware for environment – if your technology is to be used for water-based activities, consider your touch screen sensitivity.
- Software – have you considered what platform is most accessible for your target audience (e.g. app or website)? Could you include a digital literacy check for your end users? (e.g. do they have an email address, are they comfortable using web pages or apps?) Have you included audio instructions for your exercises, or voice interaction? Have you considered the image sizes, make sure the pictures and font sizes aren’t too small. Could you include subtitles for people to follow?
- Ease of use for target audience – seek to understand what is ‘easy to use’ for your target audience, engage end-users (e.g. easy to turn on and start using, no complicated websites, pick up and go). Ensure there is a guide or notes on how to use/navigate your product/platform. Could it be useful to have videos available explaining the technology/equipment needed before people use it?
- Software adaptations for physical or mental capabilities – think about hearing and sight impairments, could you offer varied audio frequencies, connection to hearing devices, adjustments for sight impairments or subtitles? Work with your target audience on their specific requirements.
- Physical adaptations of environment of use – what might older adults have at home that could be useful to support engagement with your product and support safe movement? (e.g. a sofa for balance for swivel chair for 360 experiences). Consider the range of mobility issues, will your exercises involve legs, hands, arms? Could a joystick be useful for inclusivity?
- Accessibility of exercises – does your platform include activities for a range of abilities and considerations for disabilities (e.g. seated exercises)? Make sure any accessibility tools are clear and easy to find (e.g. closed captioning, subtitles, translation, vibrations for hearing loss, adjustable background music volume).
Specific to physical activity platforms
Motivation
These following factors might be particularly motivating for online PA platforms.
- Engaging instructor – make sure instructors are engaging and make the activity fun.
- Live sessions – consider including live sessions, reminders on live sessions starting and music to move to.
- Instructor relatability – when designing for older adults, consider including older people in your videos (both for instructors and demonstrators) and not relying only on younger models.
Barriers
Consider the barriers specific to online platforms and websites that may impair use of your technology.
- Programme design barriers – it can be difficult to motivate participation through a screen, some prefer to go outside or engage in face-to-face classes. How will you motivate people to be more active? Consider how older adults will be able to find your online platform.
- Use of social media platforms – we recommend live sessions are hosted on websites as social media can be distracting and requires sign up.
Design / Inclusivity
These are some design and inclusivity factors to consider when designing your platform.
- Clarity of presentation – make sure all exercises have a visual follow-along. It can be difficult to follow exercises not mirrored by the instructor.
- Clarity of instructions – consider instructors accents and how clearly they speak. Make sure instructions are available in written and audio form. Consider limiting chat between instructions/activities.
- Visual considerations – would it be useful for your exercises to be casted onto larger screens, and is this function easy?
- Accessibility of exercises – consider including pauses, breaks and slower instructions to allow people to follow along, rest and catch up. We recommend including exercises that do not require specific equipment. Have you included live sessions that allow for questions and checking of form?