Considerations for technology that support physical activity by older adults

Abstract

Barriers to physical activity prevent older adults from meeting recommended physical activity levels necessary for maintaining quality of life. As technology becomes more advanced, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to address concerns faced by the aging population. We seek opportunities for technology to empower older adults to overcome barriers on their own by interviewing and learning from older adults who have successfully overcome these barriers. In this paper, we present a set of needs that technology can address, and considerations for designing technology interventions that support physical activity by older adults.

Promoting Daily Physical Activity by Means of Mobile Gaming: A Review of the State of the Art

“…The use of metaphors and avatars is common and reasonable in game design, but also in persuasive design: showing physical activity levels as, for example, a flower, 43 a garden, 44,45 or art. 46 Such metaphorical displays are in general well accepted and positively received. [43][44][45][46][47] Lin et al 27 specifically showed that exhibiting activity through the growth and emotional state of virtual fish indeed increased users' awareness of their levels of physical activity and increased their motivation to exercise.…”

Custom-designed motion-based games for older adults: A review of literature in human-computer interaction

“…The game features a virtual instructor who shows poses that should be imitated by the player, and the system applies wearable sensors to determine and evaluate user input; the authors do not provide any information on the evaluation of the system. Fan et al 50 present Spark, a pedometer-based system similar to Flowie 29 ; however, instead of combining pedometer input with a game, they provide visualizations of user activity. A three-week qualitative evaluation during which participants used the system and participated in interviews showed that people enjoyed using the system, and that it provided them with useful feedback on their daily activity.…”

Wheelchair-based game design for older adults

“…A growing number of projects focus on the development of accessible motion-based applications for older adults with the goal of providing physical and mental stimulation [7], e.g., for people living in nursing homes. Full-body motion-based games usually require players to be able to stand without assistance and move around in the room freely.…”