Designing for the Life Span Segment 4

Slide 71 Content

Conclusions Related to Aging and the Product Environment:

The issues related to sensory change provide the basis for understanding problems older adults will have with the "interface" with current technology, these are issues of control and display;
Legibility of text information, use of "redundant cueing methods" to signal the user about appropriate interaction with products and understanding the issue of short term memory among the old-old in the population are all important to the design response;
Telephone answering and information systems employed by business and by government are complicated and require entering information through the key pad... necessitating a phone with the key pad on a base station or console;
Medications require careful management - and placement in the environment...not in the medicine cabinet of the bathroom but more likely in the kitchen where they are more accessible and the older adult using medications is near a telephone;
Computer technology use is increasing among older adults, especially since medical information and medication ordering are expedited through the Internet resource...necessitating accessible hardware/software and Internet/web site access.