The Effects of the Seniors Social Participation App

• Main Authors: Pei-Ti Hsu, 徐蓓蒂
• Other Authors: I-Ju Chen
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/95kkgk

博士 === 國立陽明大學 === 護理學系 === 105 === Objective: This study designed an application, focused on the social participation of seniors and based on user experience, to resolve the social participation intention and behavior of seniors, thereby increasing social support. The smartphone use and social participation needs of seniors were examined through observation and interviews, and were used as the basis for determining appropriate guidelines for the application design and developing the Senior Social Participation App (SSP-App) for smartphones. A precursor experiment was conducted to evaluate the overall usability of and the operational interface of the SSP-App, and to investigate the effects of the SSP-App intervention on seniors’ social support, social participation intention, and social participation behavior. Results: In order to ensure that the SPP-APP interface was user-friendly, it needed to allow for touch screen adjustments to image sizes, provide written descriptions in the options interface rather than just icons, avoid English language, involve simple processes, maximize the interface spacing, require a password, and support different operating systems. The six main functions included an “activity partner message board”, an “activity search” that provided information about different activities, a “senior info station” which provided useful information, a “transportation information function”, an “event planning and notification system”, and a “first-aid station”. The majority of participants in the SPP-App precursor test expressed approval. After four weeks of intervention, the SSP-App had an effect only on social participation intentions. After 12 weeks of intervention, SSP-App had an effect on social support, as well as social participation intentions and behavior. Conclusions and suggestions: SSP-App was developed after the design requirements of an App for social participation for seniors were investigated through qualitative research. After four weeks of intervention, the SSP-App had an effect only on social participation intentions. After 12 weeks of intervention, SSP-App had an effect on social support, as well as social participation intentions and behavior. It is suggested that SSP-App can be used to provide seniors with information regarding social participation and deliver activity-related information suitable for the user.