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• Cognitive Accessibility of Digital Payments: A Literature Review

  Jiamin Dai, John Miedema, Sebastian Hernandez, Alexandra Sutton-Lalani, Karyn Moffatt · 2023 · Proceedings of the 20th International Web for All Conference (W4A '23)

  This literature review examines 30 scholarly publications (2012-2022) to characterize the cognitive accessibility challenges and design strategies for digital payments, focusing on the experiences of older adults and people with neurodiverse needs including dementia,…

  cognitive accessibility · financial technology · digital payments · banking accessibility · older adults

• Screen or No Screen? Lessons Learnt from a Real-World Deployment Study of Using Voice Assistants With and Without Touchscreen for Older Adults

  Zhenyu Chen, Yijun Lin, Jiaxin Li, Qiuchen Qian, Mingzhe Li, Jikun Peng, Yuhang Zhao · 2023 · ASSETS 2023: The 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents a 40-day within-subjects deployment study examining how older adults interact with voice assistants (VAs) with and without touchscreen capability. Sixteen participants (mean age 82.5 years), all living independently, used an Amazon Echo Dot (voice-only) and…

  voice assistants · older adults · smart speakers · smart displays · touchscreen

• Guidelines for Designing Social Networking Sites for Older Adults: A Systematic Review with Thematic Synthesis

  Amira Ghenai, Philips Ayeni, Jing Yu, Robin Cohen, Karyn Moffatt · 2023 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This systematic review synthesizes design recommendations for social networking sites (SNS) targeting older adults, addressing a critical gap: despite being the fastest-growing demographic on platforms like Facebook, older adults face numerous barriers to adoption and use. The…

  older adults · social networking · social media · systematic review · design guidelines

• Performance and Pleasure: Exploring the Perceived Usefulness and Appeal of Physical Activity Data Visualizations with Older Adults

  Dimitri Vargemidis, Kathrin Gerling, Vero Vanden Abeele, Luc Geurts · 2023 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This mixed-methods study examines how older adults perceive and value different approaches to visualizing physical activity (PA) data from wearable activity trackers. The researchers combined semi-structured interviews (N=17) and an online survey (N=27) with 44 older adults…

  older adults · physical activity · data visualization · wearable technology · activity trackers

• Enriching Social Sharing for the Dementia Community: Insights from In-Person and Online Social Programs

  Jiamin Dai, Karyn Moffatt · 2023 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents a comparative study of in-person and virtual social programs for people with dementia, examining how the COVID-19 pandemic transformed community-based social engagement. The research centers on "Tales & Travels," a storytelling program hosted by the Westmount…

  dementia · cognitive accessibility · social computing · videoconferencing · caregivers

• Investigating Older Adults' Adoption and Usage of Online Conferencing Tools During COVID-19

  Hirak Ray, Ravi Kuber, Adam J. Aviv · 2022 · Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This qualitative study examines how 25 older adults (aged 60-89) in the United States adapted to online conferencing tools during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on usability challenges, privacy and security concerns, and the trade-offs made between the two. The…

  older adults · aging · technology adoption · privacy · usability

• Applying Technology in a Hybrid-Fashion to Create Dementia-Inclusive Community Spaces

  Elaine Czech · 2022 · Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This doctoral consortium paper presents PhD research exploring how technology can improve accessibility to community spaces and social programs for people living with dementia (PLWD) and their informal carers. The work is grounded in the growing practice of social prescribing —…

  dementia · cognitive accessibility · social prescribing · community-based design · hybrid spaces

• Supporting Physical Activity in Later Life: Perspectives from Older Adults

  Muhe Yang · 2022 · Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This doctoral consortium paper presents a research plan to investigate how behaviour change technology can be better designed to support physical activity among older adults living alone, with a specific focus on walking. The author identifies a core problem: existing health…

  aging · older adults · physical activity · behaviour change technology · persuasive technology

• It's Enactment Time!: High-fidelity Enactment Stage for Accessible Automated Driving System Technology Research

  Aaron Gluck, Hannah Solini, Julian Brinkley · 2022 · Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This pictorial paper documents the iterative design and construction of a high-fidelity enactment stage for researching accessible autonomous vehicle (AV) technology with older adults and people with disabilities. Autonomous vehicles hold transformative potential for people who…

  autonomous vehicles · accessible transportation · user enactment · older adults · physical disability

• A Collaborative Approach to Support Medication Management in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment Using Conversational Assistants (CAs)

  Niharika Mathur, Kunal Dhodapkar, Tamara Zubatiy, Jiachen Li, Brian Jones, Elizabeth Mynatt · 2022 · Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper presents MATCHA (Medication Action To Check-In for Health Application), a conversational medication management system built as a Google Action for the Google Home Hub, designed specifically for older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and their caregivers…

  mild cognitive impairment · older adults · medication management · conversational assistants · smart speakers

• "I Used To Carry A Wallet, Now I Just Need To Carry My Phone": Understanding Current Banking Practices and Challenges Among Older Adults in China

  Xiaofu Jin, Mingming Fan · 2022 · Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper investigates how older adults in China navigate the rapidly shifting landscape from physical to digital banking, examining their practices, motivations for learning, and the challenges they encounter. China provides a particularly compelling context: it has the…

  older adults · digital banking · mobile accessibility · digital equity · financial accessibility

• Mobile Phone Use by People with Mild to Moderate Dementia: Uncovering Challenges and Identifying Opportunities

  Mark Dixon, Jess Hartcher-O'Brien, Amanda Lazar, Leah Findlater · 2022 · Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper investigates how people with mild to moderate dementia use mobile phones in their daily lives, going beyond the common research focus on dementia-specific assistive apps to examine mainstream smartphone use. The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 14…

  dementia · cognitive accessibility · mobile phones · qualitative research · user interviews

• Understanding How Sensory Changes Experienced by Individuals with a Range of Age-Related Cognitive Changes Can Affect Technology Use

  Emma Dixon, Amanda Lazar · 2022 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This qualitative study investigates how sensory changes experienced by people with age-related cognitive changes—including dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and subjective cognitive decline (SCD)—affect their technology use. The researchers conducted interviews with 22…

  dementia · cognitive accessibility · mild cognitive impairment · sensory changes · older adults

• Scribe: Improving Older Adults' Access to Medical Instructions from Patient-Physician Conversations

  Hilda Karimi, Jasprabhjit Bora, Martin Hammond · 2021 · Proceedings of the 18th International Web for All Conference (W4A '21)

  This paper presents Scribe, a mobile prototype designed to help older adults access, organize, and recall medical information shared during doctor's visits. The research addresses a significant accessibility challenge: older patients, particularly those managing multiple chronic…

  older adults · health informatics · patient-physician communication · mobile accessibility · assistive technology

• When Can Accessibility Help? An Exploration of Accessibility Feature Recommendation on Mobile Devices

  Jason Wu, Gabriel Reyes, Sam C. White, Xiaoyi Zhang, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2021 · Proceedings of the 18th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper tackles a significant gap in mobile accessibility: while smartphone operating systems now include dozens of built-in accessibility features — from screen readers and magnifiers to caption support and touch accommodations — most users are unaware these features exist…

  mobile accessibility · accessibility features · older adults · recommender systems · feature discovery

• A Case for Making Web Accessibility Guidelines Accessible: Older Adult Content Creators and Web Accessibility Planning

  Aqueasha Martin-Hammond, Ulka Patil, Barsa Tandukar · 2021 · Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '21)

  This short paper presents an experience report on partnering with older adult content creators at an independent living community to support web accessibility planning for their internal resident website. The website served as a civic participation tool where resident committees…

  web accessibility · older adults · content creators · WCAG · participatory research

• Activity Recognition in Older Adults with Training Data from Younger Adults: Preliminary Results on in Vivo Smartwatch Sensor Data

  Sabahat Fatima · 2021 · Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '21)

  This extended abstract investigates a critical age-related bias in wearable activity recognition: models trained on data from younger adults perform significantly worse when applied to older adults. The study is motivated by the growing potential of smartwatch-based…

  older adults · activity recognition · machine learning · wearable technology · smartwatch

• Understanding Barriers and Design Opportunities to Improve Healthcare and QOL for Older Adults through Voice Assistants

  Chen Chen, Janet G. Johnson, Kemeberly Charles, Alice Lee, Ella T. Lifset, Michael Hogarth, Alison A. Moore, Emilia Farcas, Nadir Weibel · 2021 · Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper investigates the barriers older adults face when managing their healthcare and daily routines, and explores how voice-based Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs) might address those challenges. The researchers employed a user-centered design approach, conducting…

  voice assistants · older adults · healthcare · intelligent virtual assistants · gerontechnology

• Investigating Best Practices for Remote Summative Usability Testing with People with Mild to Moderate Dementia

  Rachel Wood, Emma Dixon, Salma Elsayed-Ali, Ekta Shokeen, Amanda Lazar, Jonathan Lazar · 2021 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study is the first to examine best practices for conducting remote summative usability testing with people who have mild to moderate dementia, independent of their caregivers. The research included 15 participants (5 pilot, 10 main study) with an average age of 64,…

  dementia · usability testing · remote research · cognitive accessibility · older adults

• Immersive Virtual Reality for Older Adults: Empirically Grounded Design Guidelines

  Vero Vanden Abeele, Brenda Schraepen, Hanne Huygelier, Celine Gillebert, Kathrin Gerling, Raymond Van Ee · 2021 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper establishes empirically grounded design guidelines for immersive virtual reality (IVR) experiences targeting older adults. The researchers conducted two complementary studies: first, a systematic literature review that compiled 67 design guidelines from 13 prior…

  virtual reality · older adults · aging · design guidelines · accessibility

• Irrelevant Gadgets or a Source of Worry: Exploring Wearable Activity Trackers with Older Adults

  Dimitri Vargemidis, Kathrin Gerling, Vero Vanden Abeele, Luc Geurts, Katta Spiel · 2021 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This qualitative study explores older adults' perspectives on wearable activity trackers and physical activity (PA), addressing a gap in research that typically focuses on system performance rather than user perspectives. The researchers conducted a two-part study: first, focus…

  wearables · older adults · physical activity · participatory design · co-design

• Using a participatory activities toolkit to elicit privacy expectations of adaptive assistive technologies

  Foad Hamidi, Kellie Poneres, Aaron Massey, Amy Hurst · 2020 · Proceedings of the 17th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper addresses a critical but often overlooked tension in assistive technology design: the privacy tradeoff inherent in adaptive assistive technologies (AATs) that must collect and analyze user performance data to function effectively. The authors developed a participatory…

  privacy · assistive technology · adaptive systems · participatory design · essential tremor

• CareHub: Smart Screen VUI and Home Appliances Control for Older Adults

  Ningjing Sun · 2020 · Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2020)

  This demonstration paper presents CareHub, a smart screen prototype that augments voice user interfaces (VUIs) with complementary visual output to help older adults control home appliances more effectively. The research was conducted at the Rhode Island School of Design and…

  voice user interface · older adults · smart home · aging in place · multimodal interaction

• Input Accessibility: A Large Dataset and Summary Analysis of Age, Motor Ability and Input Performance

  Leah Findlater, Lotus Zhang · 2020 · Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2020)

  This University of Washington study makes two key contributions to understanding how age and motor ability affect computer input performance: a large open dataset of mouse and touchscreen input traces from over 700 participants, and a summary analysis of mouse input data from…

  motor impairment · mouse input · touchscreen · older adults · physical accessibility

• "Maps are hard for me": Identifying How Older Adults Struggle with Mobile Maps

  Ja Eun Yu, Debaleena Chattopadhyay · 2020 · ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This short paper from the University of Illinois at Chicago examines how older adults (aged 60+) use Google Maps on their own mobile devices and identifies the specific accessibility challenges they encounter. While smartphone ownership among US adults aged 65+ grew from 18% in…

  older adults · mobile accessibility · mobile maps · touchscreen · cognitive accessibility