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UCSA: a design framework for usable cognitive systems for the worried-well

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Abstract

This paper presents a design framework that facilitates the development of usable cognitive stimulation applications for elders. A usable application considers various aspects for its design to suit its users, such as usefulness, ease of use and satisfactory user experience, in order to engage them in its use. The framework brings together the lessons learned over a period of 3 years performing fieldwork and evaluating prototypes with elders. As proof of concept, and to gather feedback for the framework, we designed, developed and evaluated Abueparty, a cognitive wellness system that uses a game board metaphor to propose everyday entertainment activities for the cognitive stimulation of worried-well elders. The evaluation results provide evidence that participants perceived Abueparty as useful, easy to use and providing a pleasant user experience. These results provide evidence of the framework’s usefulness for the effective design of usable cognitive stimulation applications.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the participation of Sociedad Gerontológica en Baja California. We also thank Ivan Carrillo, Melissa Ibarra, Casandra Chevez and Miguel Jimenez, who developed Abueparty and assisted in its evaluation. This work was funded by Universidad Autónoma de Baja California under grants 0216 XV Convocatoria Interna de Proyectos de Investigación and 0212 Proyectos de Servicio Social 2011.

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  1. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC), Km 103 Carr. Tijuana-Ensenada, CP 22860, Ensenada, Mexico

    Victoria Meza-Kubo & Alberto L. Morán

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  1. Victoria Meza-Kubo
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  2. Alberto L. Morán
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Correspondence to Victoria Meza-Kubo.

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Meza-Kubo, V., Morán, A.L. UCSA: a design framework for usable cognitive systems for the worried-well. Pers Ubiquit Comput 17, 1135–1145 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-012-0554-x

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