IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/eujoag/v21y2024i1d10.1007_s10433-024-00814-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A focus group study for the design of a web-based tool for improving problem-solving in older adults

Author

Listed:
  • Sabrina Cipolletta

    (University of Padova)

  • Dario Signorello

    (University of Padova)

  • Sara Zuppiroli

    (University of Bologna)

  • Alexandra Hering

    (Tilburg University
    University of Geneva)

  • Nicola Ballhausen

    (Tilburg University)

  • Giovanna Mioni

    (University of Padova)

  • Matthias Kliegel

    (University of Geneva)

  • Mauro Gaspari

    (University of Bologna)

  • Franca Stablum

    (University of Padova)

Abstract

The development of easily accessible and usable social and cognitive enhancement trainings is becoming a priority to reduce the impact of aging on quality of life. Since most activities of daily living (e.g., making a meal) require problem-solving skills, problem-solving interventions could be used to improve and/or maintain functional abilities in aging to prolong independence. To design an effective problem-solving training and increase older adults' adherence to the training, this study examined older adults' perceptions of their challenges in activities of daily living, their skills and difficulties in using information technology (IT), and their motivations and expectations for participating in a web-based problem-solving training activity. Four focus groups (two in Italy and two in the Netherlands) were conducted with older adults aged between 65 and 84 years, a total of 27 participants. The data were analyzed using the Atlas.ti 8 software for the thematic analysis. The analysis identified five thematic areas: interests and activities, difficulties and concerns, experiences and motivations for training, expertise and resources, suggestions for the design of the new training. The results were used to develop a first prototype of a Shared, Web-based, Intelligent Flexible Thinking Training (SWIFT), adapted to future user needs. The participation of older adults in this design phase was critical to understanding their needs, motivations, and expectations regarding the implementation and use of a cognitive enhancement training.

Suggested Citation

  • Sabrina Cipolletta & Dario Signorello & Sara Zuppiroli & Alexandra Hering & Nicola Ballhausen & Giovanna Mioni & Matthias Kliegel & Mauro Gaspari & Franca Stablum, 2024. "A focus group study for the design of a web-based tool for improving problem-solving in older adults," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujoag:v:21:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10433-024-00814-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10433-024-00814-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10433-024-00814-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10433-024-00814-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shelia R. Cotten & George Ford & Sherry Ford & Timothy M. Hale, 2014. "Editor's choice Internet Use and Depression Among Retired Older Adults in the United States: A Longitudinal Analysis," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 69(5), pages 763-771.
    2. Oliver Huxhold & Elena Hees & Noah J. Webster, 2020. "Towards bridging the grey digital divide: changes in internet access and its predictors from 2002 to 2014 in Germany," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 271-280, September.
    3. Genghua Huang & Samuel Ampadu Oteng, 2023. "Gerontechnology for better elderly care and life quality: a systematic literature review," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 1-20, December.
    4. Ke Chen & Alan Hoi-shou Chan, 2013. "Use or Non-Use of Gerontechnology—A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-22, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Veronica Oswald & Michael Wagner, 2023. "Internet usage among the oldest-old: does functional health moderate the relationship between internet usage and autonomy?," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Danilo Cavapozzi & Chiara Dal Bianco, 2022. "Does retirement reduce familiarity with Information and Communication Technology?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 553-577, June.
    3. Haiyan Kong & Huifang Liu, 2023. "The Relationship between ICT Use and Perceived Life Satisfaction among Older People in Korea: The Mediating Effect of Social Capital," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-18, June.
    4. Wang, Ruoxi & Chen, Zhuo & Zhou, Yongjie & Shen, Lining & Zhang, Zhiguo & Wu, Xiang, 2019. "Melancholy or mahjong? Diversity, frequency, type, and rural-urban divide of social participation and depression in middle- and old-aged Chinese: A fixed-effects analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    5. Samantha Dequanter & Ellen Gorus & Sven Laere & Nico Witte & Dominique Verté & Iris Steenhout & Maaike Fobelets & Ronald Buyl, 2022. "Internet use and cognitive frailty in older adults: a large-scale multidimensional approach," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1135-1144, December.
    6. Yu Song & Chenfei Qian & Susan Pickard, 2021. "Age-Related Digital Divide during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-13, October.
    7. Vicente, María Rosalía, 2022. "ICT for healthy and active aging: The elderly as first and last movers," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(3).
    8. Carmen Llorente-Barroso & María Sánchez-Valle & Mónica Viñarás-Abad, 2023. "The role of the Internet in later life autonomy: Silver surfers in Spain," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-20, December.
    9. Ren, Wei & Zhu, Xiaowen, 2024. "The age-based digital divides in China: Trends and socioeconomic differentials (2010–2020)," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3).
    10. Ana Suárez-Álvarez & María Rosalía Vicente, 2025. "Internet use and the Well-Being of the Elders. A Quantitative Study in an Aged Country," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 176(3), pages 1121-1135, February.
    11. Katrien Luijkx & Sebastiaan Peek & Eveline Wouters, 2015. "“Grandma, You Should Do It—It’s Cool” Older Adults and the Role of Family Members in Their Acceptance of Technology," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-16, December.
    12. Shuo Shi & Lu Zhang & Guohua Wang, 2023. "Bridging the Digital Divide: Internet Use of Older People from the Perspective of Peer Effects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-16, August.
    13. Stav Shapira & Ella Cohn-Schwartz & Daphna Yeshua-Katz & Limor Aharonson-Daniel & Avram Mark Clarfield & Orly Sarid, 2021. "Teaching and Practicing Cognitive-Behavioral and Mindfulness Skills in a Web-Based Platform among Older Adults through the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-14, October.
    14. Eva Kahana, 2023. "Innovative Uses of Technology to Benefit Older Adults," Journal of Elder Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 2(3), pages 1-18, June.
    15. Zhang, Lixia & Li, Shaoting & Ren, Yanjun, 2024. "Does internet use benefit the mental health of older adults? Empirical evidence from the China health and retirement longitudinal study," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15.
    16. Shao, Qinglong & Kostka, Genia, 2023. "The COVID-19 pandemic and deepening digital inequalities in China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10).
    17. Clemens Tesch-Römer & Giovanni Lamura, 2021. "Older adults in the first wave of the Corona pandemic," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 145-147, June.
    18. Simona Vulpe & Andrei Crăciun, 2020. "Silver surfers from a European perspective: technology communication usage among European seniors," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 125-134, March.
    19. Hannah R. Marston & Joost van Hoof, 2019. "“Who Doesn’t Think about Technology When Designing Urban Environments for Older People?” A Case Study Approach to a Proposed Extension of the WHO’s Age-Friendly Cities Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-35, September.
    20. Dalila Failli & Bruno Arpino & Maria Francesca Marino, 2024. "A finite mixture approach for the analysis of digital skills in Bulgaria, Finland and Italy: the role of socio-economic factors," Statistical Methods & Applications, Springer;Società Italiana di Statistica, vol. 33(5), pages 1483-1511, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:eujoag:v:21:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10433-024-00814-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.