Co-designing digital products and services for healthy ageing
The world’s population is ageing, with virtually every country experiencing growth in the number and proportion of older people. In fact, according to the World Health Organisation, 1 in 6 people in the world will be aged 60 years or over by 2030. And by 2050, the world’s population of people aged 60 years and older will double (2.1 billion).
As life expectancy increases, so does the number of chronic diseases, with evidence suggesting that a lot of older people are spending their additional years in poor health.
While genetics may influence lifespan and susceptibility to these diseases, lifestyle is one of the biggest factors impacting health, especially in your later years.
So, how do you empower older people to take control of their ageing and improve their quality of life for longer? The secret lies at the intersection of healthy ageing and digital technology.
What is Healthy Ageing?
As the world wrestles with a growing ageing population, every country faces significant challenges in ensuring its health and social systems are ready for this demographic shift. With longer life expectancy, more older people turn to Government services putting greater strain on the system as a whole.
Healthy ageing is helping to reverse that. A growing movement, healthy ageing is an initiative aiming to improve the quality of life of people over 65 and reduce their reliance on services. It focuses on creating environments and opportunities that allow people to be and do what they value throughout their lives, regardless of age.
Rather than a reactive healthcare model, healthy ageing focuses on preventative health, empowering people to engage in activities that improve their quality of life for longer. By looking at things like diet, exercise, sleep, community and life purpose, older people can add life to their years rather than just years to their life.
You only have to look as far as the world’s blue zones to see the proof for yourself. The Blue Zone regions are home to some of the oldest and healthiest people in the world, and this mainly comes down to factors like their diet and daily activities.
Rather than changing how you live, healthy ageing is about reframing how you view your life. Let’s take something as simple as exercise as an example. According to a Healthline article, “In the Blue Zones, people don’t exercise purposefully by going to the gym. Instead, it is built into their daily lives through gardening, walking, cooking and other daily chores”.
Older people and digital
When you think of older people and digital technology, it’s easy to defer to outdated assumptions that “old people” don’t know how to/don’t use technology. But the truth may surprise you.
Older Australians are much more tech-savvy nowadays. Internet access and use has been growing in the last decade, with 87 per cent of Australians now using the Internet. The COVID-19 pandemic also led to an increase in technology adoption among older Australians, with many seniors switching to smartphones to stay in touch with loved ones and using QR codes for check-ins.
Despite increased adoption, there are still challenges. According to a report from National Seniors Australia, nearly half of senior users say digital technologies need to be designed to better suit senior users.
Digital exclusion is a key driver of that, with the Australian Digital Inclusion Index showing that those aged 65 and over are still more digitally excluded compared to other age groups. Digital exclusion speaks to a big barrier for older Australians: feeling confident online. As an ABC article on digital inclusion among older Australians states, “Digital exclusion is not just about lacking access to technologies; it is also about not being able fully to engage with technologies and benefit from them. It is about not having ever-increasing digital skills, too. Skills that are essential to combat risks posed by online misinformation, cyber fraud, and privacy issues.”
As digital designers, we have the opportunity to unlock the potential for digital tools to support people as they age and show older Australians the true value digital products can provide.
Digital tools help older people stay connected, applications help track and support their health, and devices make life at home safer and more comfortable.
The problem is that much research and industry focus has been on designing assistive technology products like walkers and ramps rather than how this audience uses digital products/services.
That’s where the opportunity lies, especially with the new WCAG 3.0 guidelines in development. These guidelines will see accessibility requirements become much more inclusive for older people and people with disabilities. Designers must consider elements like text sizes, contrast, UX copywriting, IA, and responsive scroll experience to deliver digital experiences that empower older Australians and support them as they age.
What we learned to do differently with LiveUp
LiveUp is a leading healthy ageing initiative where older people can find reputable advice and information about how to maintain their independence for longer.
LiveUp engaged Anthologie to evaluate how resources were personalised for each user.
Initially, resources were labelled by interest, such as ‘coffee club’, ‘strength and exercise’, ‘gardening’, etc.
When we consulted a group of people over 65, they identified that they wanted to personalise the resources based on their goals. This was further validated by the findings in WHO’s report on healthy ageing.
Based on the findings, we reprioritised our filter design, which was very positively received when validated.
Talk to the Anthologie team about user testing and validation for your next project.
Validating designs and content
When researching the LiveUp audience, we found that Australia’s older population is culturally and linguistically diverse. Based on census data, almost 6% of Australians aged over 65 who spoke another language reported they also spoke English, either not well or not at all.
To ensure that the LiveUp website was easy to understand and use, we focused on strategic UX copywriting for translation. We also developed the content at a Grade 8 reading level to improve clarity for all users, including anyone using a screen reader.
As part of the content testing phase, we identified phrases that positively resonated with the audience and used them to inform content throughout other pages of the website.
A co-design approach to building confidence in older people
The biggest barrier for older people and technology is not adoption but building confidence in using it. Using a co-design approach, designers can explore how this audience uses digital products/services to design digital experiences that suit their needs.
Based on various projects, here are some key considerations for successful co-design with older audiences:
- Older people have varied time schedules; some are semi-retired, and some are retired with a full social calendar, so be respectful and mindful of their time.
- Online meetings are a great alternative. With some cohorts more vulnerable to illness, online is a great alternative. Don’t assume the technology will be a barrier to interacting with this audience – ask.
- Don’t dismiss their tolerance or capacity to learn new things! It’s our job as designers to make that learning experience intuitive and help them feel confident.
Digital designers have the opportunity to unlock the true potential of digital products and services to empower older Australians to live longer, healthier and happier lives.
Talk to us about designing products for and with older people.