Issues of Devices and Applications for Supporting Walking in Older People - Focus on the Information Provision

Tamura, Ryoichi; Ariyoshi, Yohei

Japan has become a super-aging society, with the number of older people (over the age of 65) at a historical high both in absolute numbers (33 million) and as a proportion of the total population (26.0%). Walking is known to be associated with positive psychological improvements such as in subjective sense of wellbeing, life satisfaction, and a sense of purpose in life, as well as improvements in physical and mental function, such as arm/leg muscle strength and standing balance. In this study, we focus on information about functions for assisting walking, comparing and contrasting the information provided by existing products that support walking with the goal of clarifying issues from an information-provision viewpoint. We conducted interviews with eight older people who go for walks on a daily basis, asking about their thoughts before, during, and after walking. From 110 total comments, we obtained 30 comments relating to the action of walking. Furthermore, we investigated the functions of 11 devices and 20 applications that support walking, and from 24 functions, we focused on 20 functions relating to the action of walking. By comparing and contrasting the twin perspectives of “information items” and “information content” with visualization levels identified in the field of management, we clarified issues relating to devices and applications for supporting walking among older users, from the viewpoint of information provision.

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