Ethics in Evaluating a Sociotechnical Intervention With Socially Isolated Older Adults

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to consider how ethical principles can inform the effective design and implementation of technology-based interventions that aim to promote the well-being of socially isolated older adults. We evaluated a new iPad application with small groups of older adults. In this article, we reflect on the ethical issues encountered at each stage of the research process. Drawing on the ethical principles of beneficence, research merit and integrity, justice, and respect, we identify key issues to consider in the future design and implementation of social isolation interventions that use new technologies. Key issues include (a) providing sufficient support to facilitate ongoing social interactions, (b) managing older adults' expectations, (c) providing encouragement without coercion, and (d) responding to individual needs. We conclude that it is important to report on ethical challenges incurred when evaluating social isolation interventions to inform future research in this important area.

Ethical Encounters in Human-Computer Interaction

“…This can have positive consequences in the participants' unreserved feedback, but also lead to expectations of researchers becoming intimately involved in the social lives of participants. In addition, introducing new technologies into participants' lives provides an extra layer of complexity that can make it difficult to know how much researchers should intervene [15].The case studies collected during the CHI 2015 workshop further illustrate a need to continue our analysis of the ethical implications of such situations and how practitioners can (and when they should) maintain boundaries around the research.…”

“…In the previous workshop, McNaney and Vines [6] described the anxiety their participants experienced when the technology they were evaluating did not work as expected. In another example, older adults using an iPad app to share messages found that it sometimes exacerbated, rather than ameliorated, their loneliness when people did not immediately respond to their messages [15].…”

Ethical Encounters in HCI

“…evaluations of interactive technologies with military or law enforcement partners [13]), or in care settings where participants are clients recruited through a care provider [25]. In other cases, participants might be compelled to participate because of perceptions about…”

“…At CHI 2015 we held the inaugural workshop on "Ethical Encounters in HCI: Research in Sensitive Settings" [25]. This followed other recent workshops that focused on designing for and with vulnerable populations [21], enabling empathy in design research [17], and ethics in participatory design, held at CSCW 2015 [2].…”

“…For instance, we have worked with: socially isolated older adults [25][27], people with chronic and complex conditions [20], people with low levels of literacy [14], refugee communities [16], and women experiencing significant mental health issues [18], among others. Projects conducted with participant groups such as these can raise new and complex ethical concerns for HCI researchers.…”