Download A FRAMEWORK FOR IMPROVING TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE

A FRAMEWORK FOR IMPROVING TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE
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lowest among older people. Elderly people also encounter more problems with using
technology (Napp, 2008; Hara, Naka, & Harada, 2009). Vision problems and reduced fine
motor skills for example influence the ease with which a computer is used, making it more
difficult to read (small) text on a screen and controlling the mouse cursor. Technological
solutions are therefore designed that try to overcome these issues.
This research focuses on the implementation of such assistive technologies for elderly
and their older informal caregivers, promoting technology acceptance by designing an
evidence-based introduction of a system. A framework to improve technology acceptance is
developed within a case example of elderly support. This is done by researching what factors
influence technology acceptance and investigating how the design of a system introduction
can positively influence these factors. A human centred design approach is followed to reach
design solutions that relate closely to users’ needs and preferences. The study involves the
actual design of an introduction for the studied case system with an in-depth analysis of the
case. The case study forms the basis for the development of specific design solutions for an
introduction that could improve technology acceptance and more general insights into the
technology acceptance theory. In this chapter, a more elaborate description of the target users
is provided first. After that, a short overview of available technology in elderly and informal
caregiver support will be given. The discussion will then move on to the issue of technology
acceptance. Next, the design methodology, human centred design, is introduced into the
discourse. Eventually, the studied case is presented and the scope of the research is set. The
research questions are also formulated in this section.
Elderly and their Informal Caregivers
Independently living elderly form one part of the target group in this research. It was
already stated that the elderly population is growing and that older adults value living at home
independently (Steele et al., 2009). Statistics Netherlands, or in Dutch Centraal Bureau voor