Development and Usability Testing of an Emergency Alert Device for Elderly People and People with Disabilities

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of an emergency alert device for elderly people and people with disabilities by usability testing. There were two phases in this study: (1) development of a prototype for an emergency alert device and (2) usability testing of the device. Results presented development of the prototype, which comprised parts for sending and receiving signals. There were two kinds of alarms for emergency calls known as conscious and unconscious alerts. Participants in the usability testing phase included 12 specialists and 161 users that comprised 146 elderly people or people with disabilities and 15 caregivers or community health volunteers. The instruments used were a rating scale, usability checklist, and individual interviews regarding the usability, general appearance, and use of the device. The users agreed with the overall aspects regarding usability of the device, its general appearance, and use (X¯ ± SD = 4.24 ± 0.88, 4.11 ± 0.90, and 4.37 ± 0.83, respectively). Most of the participants, both specialists and users, gave their perspectives on improving the size, color of the letters displayed, type of wristband, and method for sending signals.

Development of a secure multi-factor authentication algorithm for mobile money applications

“…The mobile money subscribers were satisfied with the features and functionalities of the G-MoMo applications, the information, and the display quality. This attribute was reported in other studies conducted by Byun et al (2020) The new mobile money subscribers found it easy to use the native G-MoMo applications because of the simplicity of the interfaces, features, and functionalities, which helped achieve total satisfaction (Byun et al, 2020;Merks et al, 2020;Lersilp et al, 2020;Sukmasetya et al, 2020;Al-Gayar et al, 2021;Kairy et al, 2021).…”

Training Program to Modify Manual Wheelchairs to Simplified Power Wheelchairs for Community Dwelling Elderly People and Caregivers

“…In addition, the requirement of a longer training program related to the learning styles of elderly learners, which motivated learning from experience [ 28 ] that enhanced their confidence and self-esteem by actively participating. Furthermore, most elderly individuals in suburban communities in Thailand have less opportunity to use high-tech devices in performing their daily activities [ 4 ]. Therefore, they might need more time to familiarize themselves with these technologies.…”

“…This situation is being caused by a rapid acceleration of low birth rate and the tendency of longer life in elderly people. Whenever elderly people live longer without healthcare or social support, they face a high risk of health problems and disabilities [ 4 ]. They also experience many age-related changes that have impact on their functions and performance, especially musculoskeletal functions.…”

“…Some family members give up their jobs to become caregivers for disabled elderly relatives. Leaving their jobs creates loss of income, abandoned social participation, stress, and low self-esteem [ 4 , 8 ]. Supportive services for the elderly with disabilities should be aware of how their families are also affected.…”

Definition of Guideline-Based Metrics to Evaluate AAL Ecosystem’s Usability

“…There are studies that focus over the usability assessment of existing solutions to identify critical bottlenecks and suggest optimizations accordingly. In this scope are included but not limited to the following application contexts: wearable camera system for dementia patients in 2014 by Matthews et al [162], diabetes-monitoring applications in 2015 by Isaković et al [163], IPTV application running in commercial environment that integrates multiple solutions to support home care by Ribeiro et al [164], emergency alert devices in 2020 by Lersilp et al [165], and smart bands in 2021 by Correia et al [166], among others.…”