INVOLVING OLDER PEOPLE IN THE DESIGN OF AN INNOVATIVE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES SYSTEM PROMOTING ACTIVE AGING: THE SAAPHO PROJECT

Abstract

Active Ageing refers to the optimization process in health, social engagement, and security opportunities as people age. The demand to introduce technology to improve older people’s quality of life is progressively increasing. SAAPHO project, a project based on this framework, is described in this article. The objective of the SAAPHO project is to support Active Aging by assisting older people to participate in society preserving their independence and dignity through the application of innovative ICT-based solutions. This three-year project aims to develop a system focused on boosting accessibility to a diverse number of health, participation and security services by means of easy-to-use and easy-to-configure interfaces. Involving older people through participatory design enhances product´s usability and accessibility.  Thus, in order to design the system, and reach end user‘s needs and preferences, questionnaires and focus groups were run in Spain and Slovenia, the two pilot testing sites, during the product design early stages. After completing the first year prototype, controlled sessions, using the SAAPHO platform, were performed with older people in both countries to study its usability. Hence, this article presents the general results of older people participation in the design of SAAPHO system after completing the first year prototype. The ultimate goal of SAAPHO is to create a usable system that covers the health, safety and social needs of end-users taking into account their preferences in the design of the behaviour and architecture of the system.