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A Qualitative Design Approach for Exploring the Use of Medication and Health Care Devices among Elderly Persons
Author(s) -
Liang SheauFarn Max,
Rau PeiLuen Patrick,
Zhou Jia,
Huang Eva
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
human factors and ergonomics in manufacturing and service industries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.408
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1520-6564
pISSN - 1090-8471
DOI - 10.1002/hfm.20337
Subject(s) - persona , health care , qualitative research , user research , applied psychology , psychology , aging in place , gerontology , computer science , user experience design , human–computer interaction , medicine , sociology , social science , economics , economic growth
An academia–industry collaborative research project regarding design for elderly persons was initiated to investigate their living needs and potential design opportunities for new technologies and products. In the first year, a qualitative design approach for exploring their use of medication and health care devices was proposed. First, a user study was conducted using self‐reporting, observation, and interview methods. Four personas representing different lifestyle patterns of elderly persons were then derived from the user study data. Finally, four designers were invited to present and synthesize their design ideas for those personas. Results showed that the user study could reveal considerable information and that the persona method was effective for designers to communicate their ideas and concentrate on user requirements. The study findings suggested that, for design for elderly persons, social and affective factors can be considered with decline in age‐related abilities. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.