Development of a Game with Participatory Design for Cognitive Training for Elderly People and Data Analysis Through Interaction Logs
The number of elderly people and their life expectancy increases each year, bringing the need for new approaches to ensure their well-being and quality of life. The natural aging process leads to cognitive changes and it is necessary to act on these aspects, preventing the elderly person from participating in activities and reducing their functionality in daily activities. Tools have been created to deal with this situation, including: platforms and digital games. However, many elderly people may not feel compelled to use these tools due to a lack of empathy. This study presents the development of a digital game prototype through participatory design with elderly people with a high level of education. The work was carried out in an interdisciplinary way, with the inclusion of students and professors from the Bachelor of Science and Technology, Neuroscience and Computer Science at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC). The purpose of design is, in order to develop a product that, at the same time, would be efficient for cognitive training and would also be fun and attractive to the elderly. Finally, it is shown that tools that better reflect the expectations of users can be created taking into account the various agents involved in the life of an elderly person. These tools will become more useful and effective because they will start from the ideas and needs of the users themselves.