View article

A wide spectrum of research has been done in designing technologies for older people that address different aspects of the ageing process, such as physical, mental and emotional health. Recently, technology-based interventions that promote physical activity have gained momentum. Prior to designing the interventions, the key question we need to answer is why older people would use them. This requires consideration of personal, as well as socio-technical context of engagement. In this paper we describe our work in understanding personal and socio-technical factors of user engagement in using technologies for older people that promote physical activity and social interaction. We use the results to identify, articulate and validate user scenarios for our intervention design.