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Using technology to encourage a healthier lifestyle in people with Down’s syndrome

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Abstract

This article reports on the development of a mobile app developed to encourage healthier lifestyles, with emphasis on food intake, by people with Down’s syndrome. The system started by considering generic guidelines on designing technology for people with Down’s syndrome investigated by a previous European project. Then, it developed the product using the User-centred Intelligent Environments Development Process, an iterative method of gathering stakeholders’ views to involve them in co-designing the product. The project produced a mobile app which was validated with the intended final users and gathered positive feedback. The experience also provides further insights which can inform developers of future similar technological solutions.

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Notes

  1. https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/.

  2. www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-communication/accessible-communication-formats#easy-read-and-makaton.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by DSActive, a branch of Down’s Syndrome Association UK, and in particular had input from professional nutritionist Alex Rawle.

Funding

Funding was provided by DSActive, a branch of DSA-UK.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RG on Development of Intelligent Environments, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Middlesex University London, London, UK

    A. Mohammedi & Juan C. Augusto

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  1. A. Mohammedi
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  2. Juan C. Augusto
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Correspondence to Juan C. Augusto.

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The authors declare not to have a conflict of interest in relation to the content of this article.

Ethical approval

The interaction with stakeholders for validation was performed by DSA-UK during their activities and following their internal ethical procedures.

Informed consent

The interaction with stakeholders for validation was performed by DSA-UK during their activities and following their internal ethical procedures.

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Mohammedi, A., Augusto, J.C. Using technology to encourage a healthier lifestyle in people with Down’s syndrome. Univ Access Inf Soc 20, 343–358 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-020-00721-y

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