This study, conducted collaboratively with five men who have a diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD), is the first stage of a formative research project aimed at developing a new website for people with dementia. Recommendations derived from a literature review of the implications of dementia-related cognitive changes for website design were combined with general web accessibility guidelines to provide a basis for the initial design of a new website. This website was compared with an equivalent site, containing the same information but based on an existing design, in terms of accessibility, ease of use, and user satisfaction. Participants were very satisfied with both sites, but responses did indicate some specific areas where one site was preferred over another. Observational data highlighted significant strengths of the new site as well as some limitations, and resulted in clear recommendations for enhancing the design. In particular, the study suggested that limiting the size of web pages to the amount of information that can be displayed on a computer screen at any one time could reduce the level of difficulty encountered by the participants. The results also suggested the importance of reducing cognitive load through limiting the number of choices required at any one time, the very opposite of the ethos of much website design.
AN - 16024403 BT - Aging & mental health DO - 10.1080/13607860500142838 IS - 5 LA - eng N1 -This study is the initial step for developing a web site specifically for older adults with dementia. The results showed positive effects with some limitations. Furthermore, the study recommended some tips to enhance web accessibility for this group of people.
N2 -This study, conducted collaboratively with five men who have a diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD), is the first stage of a formative research project aimed at developing a new website for people with dementia. Recommendations derived from a literature review of the implications of dementia-related cognitive changes for website design were combined with general web accessibility guidelines to provide a basis for the initial design of a new website. This website was compared with an equivalent site, containing the same information but based on an existing design, in terms of accessibility, ease of use, and user satisfaction. Participants were very satisfied with both sites, but responses did indicate some specific areas where one site was preferred over another. Observational data highlighted significant strengths of the new site as well as some limitations, and resulted in clear recommendations for enhancing the design. In particular, the study suggested that limiting the size of web pages to the amount of information that can be displayed on a computer screen at any one time could reduce the level of difficulty encountered by the participants. The results also suggested the importance of reducing cognitive load through limiting the number of choices required at any one time, the very opposite of the ethos of much website design.
PY - 2005 SP - 442 EP - 8 T2 - Aging & mental health TI - Improving website accessibility for people with early-stage dementia: a preliminary investigation. UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16024403 VL - 9 SN - 1360-7863 (Print), 1360-7863 (Linking) ER -