Article

Aesthetically Designing Video-Call Technology With Care Home Residents: A Focus Group Study

Details

Citation

Zamir S, Allman F, Hennessy CH, Taylor AH & Jones RB (2021) Aesthetically Designing Video-Call Technology With Care Home Residents: A Focus Group Study. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Art. No.: 540048. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.540048

Abstract
Background: Video-calls have proven to be useful for older care home residents in improving socialization and reducing loneliness. Nonetheless, to facilitate the acceptability and usability of a new technological intervention, especially among people with dementia, there is a need for user-led design improvements. The current study conducted focus groups with an embedded activity with older people to allow for a person-centered design of a video-call intervention. Methods: Twenty-eight residents across four care homes in the South West of England participated in focus groups to aesthetically personalize and ‘dress-up’ the equipment used in a video-call intervention. Each care home was provided with a ‘Skype on Wheels’ (SoW) device, a wheelable ‘chassis’ comprising an iPad or tablet for access to Skype, and a telephone handset. During the focus group, residents were encouraged to participate in an activity using colorful materials to ‘dress-up’ SoW. Comments before, during and after the ‘dress up’ activity were audio recorded. Framework analysis was used to analyze the focus group data. Results: Older people, including seven with dementia were able to interact with and implement design changes to SoW through aesthetic personalization. Themes arising from the data included estrangement, anthropomorphism, reminiscence, personalization, need for socialization versus fear of socialization and attitudes toward technology. After this brief exposure to SoW, residents expressed the likelihood of using video-calls for socialization in the future. Conclusion: Care home residents enjoy engaging with new technologies when given the opportunity to interact with it, to personalize it and to understand its purpose. Low cost aesthetic personalization of technologies can improve their acceptability, usability, and implementation within complex care environments.

Keywords
video-calls; focus group; design; older people; care-setting; personalization; dementia; Skype

Journal
Frontiers in Psychology: Volume 12

StatusPublished
FundersNational Institute for Health Research
Publication date31/12/2021
Publication date online12/02/2021
Date accepted by journal13/01/2021
URLhttp://hdl.handle.net/1893/32462
eISSN1664-1078

People (1)

People

Professor Catherine Hennessy

Professor Catherine Hennessy

Professor of Ageing, Faculty of Social Sciences