DIGITAL ASSISTANT TRAINING CURRICULUM & SOFTWARE

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This research project will create, examine and bridge barriers in training older adults to use a personal digital assistant (PDA). We will apply the training to create and evaluate two applications that involve daily activities, namely a medication reminder program and a social activity questionnaire program. We will examine the medication adherence of older adults while using the PDA application. We wilt examine older adult social networks and activities and explore the PDA's potential impact on older adults quality of life. We will also examine older adults' ability to use standard PDA applications (phone book, calendar, etc.), enhanced applications (medication reminder and survey programs), and communication applications (email). After a 3-month use test, participants will then suggest what new applications would be most useful to enhance their independence. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Strong market potential exists for the development of training modules and software to facilitate using a personal digital assistant. Currently, the technology is difficult to learn and difficult to use. But personal digital assistant training and software can be designed to be universally easy to use, particularly for older adults, using techniques developed for computers over the last two decades. The personal digital assistant has the promise of becoming an ubiquitous device that can enhance the quality of life for all individuals, young and old, able and disabled.