Abstract
This paper presents a qualitative study conducted to explore perceptions, attitudes and expectations for a virtual assistive companion designed to supplement human caregiving and facilitate an improved quality of life and long-term health benefits for older adults. The study was conducted adopting a human-centred approach; employing focus groups and individual interviews with older adults, professional caregivers and psychologists specialized in the aging process. Results indicated that users were in favour of a virtual companion and highlighted its potential to assist the accomplishment of daily activities and make more efficient use of human care services. Humanlike communication and behaviour were desirable whereas mixed opinions were expressed about humanlike appearance. The ramifications of the study are discussed in the form of design implications for the development of a virtual assistive companion that possesses the appropriate "social skills" to establish and maintain comfortable and acceptable longterm interaction and offers "useful" support to older adults.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings - PERVASIVEHEALTH 2014: 8th International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Publisher | ICST |
| Publication date | 23 Jul 2014 |
| Pages | 57-64 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781631900112 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 23 Jul 2014 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | 8th International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare, PERVASIVEHEALTH 2014 - Oldenburg, Germany Duration: 20 May 2014 → 23 May 2014 |
Conference
| Conference | 8th International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare, PERVASIVEHEALTH 2014 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Germany |
| City | Oldenburg |
| Period | 20/05/2014 → 23/05/2014 |
Keywords
- HCI
- Health promotion
- Human-centred design
- Older users
- Personalization
- Qualitative field study
