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A study on the acceptance of website interaction aids by older adults

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Abstract

The goal of the present work is to investigate the potential acceptance of a set of web interaction aids by older adults, in order to help them overcome difficulties associated with ageing and help them continue using the web as a source of information, communication and services. This paper presents a survey with older adults concerning their perceptions about a set of web interaction aids defined after a field observation study, a study with questionnaires and user tests of web applications. The survey involved 313 participants, of which about 44 % were older adults and elderly users. The results showed that the use of aids to support the interaction of older adults with the web promotes improvements in the interaction of older adults and younger users alike, which supports the argument for enhanced universal usability. Finally, it was possible to diagnose barriers that still remain and which aids had best acceptance by older adults.

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Notes

  1. Available online at http://agua.intermidia.icmc.usp.br/questionario, in Portuguese.

  2. Five participants opted not to respond to question 4.

  3. Seven participants opted not to respond to question 5.

  4. Seven participants opted not to respond to question 6.

  5. Two participants opted not to respond to question 7.

  6. Three participants opted not to respond to question 8.

  7. Three participants opted not to respond to question 9.

  8. Three participants opted not to respond to question 10.

  9. Three participants opted not to respond to question 11.

  10. Two participants opted not to respond to question 12.

  11. One participant opted not to respond to question 13.

  12. Four participants opted not to respond to question 14.

  13. One participant opted not to respond to question 15.

  14. Twelve participants opted not to respond to question 16.

  15. Five participants opted not to respond to question 17.

  16. Four participants opted not to respond to question 18.

  17. Four participants opted not to respond to question 19.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the participants who contributed in this study for their most valuable input.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil

    Silvana Maria Affonso de Lara

  2. University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil

    Renata Pontin de Mattos Fortes & Cibele Maria Russo

  3. Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Brazil

    Andre Pimenta Freire

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  1. Silvana Maria Affonso de Lara
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  2. Renata Pontin de Mattos Fortes
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  3. Cibele Maria Russo
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  4. Andre Pimenta Freire
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Correspondence to Silvana Maria Affonso de Lara.

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de Lara, S.M.A., Fortes, R.P.d., Russo, C.M. et al. A study on the acceptance of website interaction aids by older adults. Univ Access Inf Soc 15, 445–460 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-015-0419-y

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