Design of an interactive digital nutritional education package for elderly people

Abstract

Designing a system for the elderly is crucial, as aging is associated with physiological changes that may impair perception, cognition and other social aspects; therefore, many aspects need consideration, especially in interface design. This study was conducted to develop a digital nutritional education package (WE Sihat) by following appropriate guidelines for elderly people to achieve better design interface and interaction. Touch-screen technology was used as a platform for user interaction. The nutritional content was based on previous nutrition studies and a lifestyle education package on healthy aging, which contains four modules. The questionnaires were distributed to 31 Malay subjects aged 60–76 years old, containing an evaluation about the overall content, graphics, design layout, colour, font size, audio/video, user-perceived satisfaction and acceptance levels. The findings showed positive feedback and acceptance. Most subjects agreed that the digital nutritional education package can increase their nutritional knowledge for a healthy lifestyle and is easy to use. The touch-screen technology was also well accepted by elderly people and can be used as a kiosk for disseminating nutrition education for healthy aging.

Keywords:

• Interactive system
• interface design
• elderly
• nutrition education

Acknowledgements

This project was supported by the University-Industry Research Grant (UKM-Hejim-Komuniti-09-2010). The authors thank the research team, Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the senior citizen club members for the support and assistance given in performing this study.

Declaration of Interest: The authors report no conflict of interest.