Transformation of HCI co-research with older adults - researchers’ positionality in the COVID-19 pandemic times

Černá, Kateřina; Paluch, Richard; Bäumer, Fabian; Ertl, Tanja; Müller, Cláudia

doi:10.55612/s-5002-050-002

Cited by 4 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…It has made older coresearchers' needs for help even more visible, but it has also made us aware of our own vulnerabilities in terms of our research and everyday life. Furthermore, it has been shown that in some cases, coresearchers can deal better with the new situation [3]. Tronto's [1,2] concept is also suitable for this because it fundamentally draws attention to the fact that the need for help and care is not limited to certain groups but that it is part of the human condition that each person, regardless of factors such as age or social status, has certain vulnerabilities that come into play in certain situations and result in a need for care and assistance.…”

Section: Practices Of Care In Pd With Older Adultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Practices of Care in Participatory Design With Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Digitally Mediated Study

Paluch¹,

Černá²,

Kirschsieper³

et al. 2023

J Med Internet Res

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Background Participatory Design (PD), albeit an established approach in User-Centered Design, comes with specific challenges when working with older adults as research participants. Addressing these challenges relates to the reflection and negotiation of the positionalities of the researchers and research participants and includes various acts of giving and receiving help. During the COVID-19 pandemic, facets of positionalities and (mutual) care became particularly evident in qualitative and participatory research settings. Objective The aim of this paper was to systematically analyze care practices of participatory (design) research, which are to different extents practices of the latter. Using a multiyear PD project with older people that had to take place remotely over many months, we specify different practices of care; how they relate to collaborative work in the design project; and represent foundational practices for sustainable, long-term co-design. Our research questions were “How can digitally-mediated PD work during COVID-19 and can we understand such digital PD as ‘care’?” Methods Our data comes from the Joint Programming Initiative “More Years, Better Lives” (JPI MYBL), a European Union project that aims to promote digital literacy and technology appropriation among older adults in domestic settings. It targeted the cocreation, by older adults and university researchers, of a mobile demo kit website with cocreated resources, aimed at improving the understanding of use options of digital tools. Through a series of workshops, a range of current IT products was explored by a group of 21 older adults, which served as the basis for joint cocreative work on generating design ideas and prototypes. We reflect on the PD process and examine how the actors enact and manifest care. Results The use of digital technology allowed the participatory project to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic and accentuated the digital skills of older adults and the improvement of digital literacy as part of “care.” We provide empirically based evidence of PD with older adults developing digital literacy and sensitizing concepts, based on the notion of care by Tronto for differentiating aspects and processes of care. The data suggest that it is not enough to focus solely on the technologies and how they are used; it is also necessary to focus on the social structures in which help is available and in which technologies offer opportunities to do care work. Conclusions We document that the cocreation of different digital media tools can be used to provide a community with mutual care. Our study demonstrates how research participants effectively enact different forms of care and how such “care” is a necessary basis for a genuinely participatory approach, which became especially meaningful as a form of support during COVID-19. We reflect on how notions of “care” and “caring” that were central to the pandemic response are also central to PD.

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Section: Practices Of Care In Pd With Older Adultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this paper, we examine the care dynamics between socioinformatics researchers and older research participants in a Participatory Design (PD) project in a German city. Through the lens of care as a process according to Tronto [1,2], we analyzed the project and the way it dealt with COVID-19 and its consequences [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practices of Care in Participatory Design With Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Digitally Mediated Study

Paluch¹,

Černá²,

Kirschsieper³

et al. 2023

J Med Internet Res

Self Cite

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“…Furthermore, this learning allows intra-generational socialisation among older adults [5], which is particularly relevant for those without family who find genuine loved ones among their cohorts. Sharing their experiences e-learning or blended learning [14] allows seniors to share their knowledge with others in society and feel useful, which gives them personal satisfaction [17,41,44,51,54]. Another important motivating factor for emotional well-being that seems associated with digital learning by older adults is that it enhances their digital inclusion.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The pandemic has led to an understanding of the benefits of technology for older adults, which has enabled their learning in times of forced isolation [14], thereby helping to improve their state of mind [1]. Older audiences are increasingly using ICT to learn, as they consider that neither knowledge nor learning is limited by age, and they find it rewarding as well [41].…”

Section: The Value Of Digital Literacy and Online Learning For Older ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…E-learning has always offered older adults with mobility problems the opportunity to learn, yet seniors have traditionally shown a negative attitude toward this type of educational model [13]. However, the pandemic and the possibilities of technological accessibility in today's societies have fostered digital learning modes for older adults [13,14]. In addition, social networks have offered informal and collaborative learning through the cocreation of content and intergenerational relationships [15,16,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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ICT-Mediated Learning as a Form of Socio-Emotional Support for Older Adults

Barroso¹,

Kolotouchkina²,

Viniegra³

et al. 2022

IxD&A

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The adverse effects of the pandemic on the emotional state of older adults have fuelled the debate regarding their digital exclusion and the need to promote their genuine inclusion. During this period, technology and technology-mediated learning have improved the quality of life of older adults in many ways. The purpose of this research is to identify the socio-emotional role of technology-assisted learning programmes for seniors ever since the onset of the pandemic. The results reveal a positive impact on the emotional well-being of older adults from these forms of learning. Participants highlight the value of intergenerational socialisation enabled by these learning formats in the process of self-learning and reciprocal learning that takes place on platforms such as YouTube and WhatsApp. However, a preference among seniors for in-person learning has also been observed, which is sometimes linked to a certain level of technological anxiety.

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