Perceived Usefulness, Satisfaction, Ease of Use and Potential of a Virtual Companion to Support the Care Provision for Older Adults

Autor: Ana Luísa Jegundo, Carina Dantas, João Quintas, João Dutra, Ana Leonor Almeida, Hilma Caravau, Ana Filipa Rosa, Ana Isabel Martins, Nelson Pacheco Rocha
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Technologies, Vol 8, Iss 3, p 42 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2227-7080
DOI: 10.3390/technologies8030042
Popis: This article reports a study aiming to determine the perceptions of older adults needing formal care about the usefulness, satisfaction, and ease of use of CaMeLi, a virtual companion based on an embodied conversational agent, and the perceptions of formal caregivers about the potential of virtual companions to support care provision. An observational study involving older adults needing formal care was conducted to assess CaMeLi using a multi-method approach (i.e., an auto-reported questionnaire—the Usefulness, Satisfaction, and Ease of use questionnaire; a scale for the usability assessment based on the opinion of observers—the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health-based Usability Scale; and critical incident registration). Moreover, a focus group was conducted to collect data regarding the perceived utility of virtual companions to support care provision. The observational study was conducted with 46 participants with an average age of 63.6 years, and the results were associated with a high level of usefulness, satisfaction, and ease of use of CaMeLi. Furthermore, the focus group composed of four care providers considered virtual companions a promising solution to support care provision and to prevent loneliness and social isolation. The results of both the observational study and the focus group revealed good perceptions regarding the role of virtual companions to support the care provision for older adults.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals