Co-Design as Learning: The Differences of Learning When Involving Older People in Digitalization in Four Countries

Björn Fischer, Britt Östlund, Nicole K. Dalmer, Andrea Rosales, Alexander Peine, Eugène Loos, Louis Neven and Barbara Marshall
Additional contact information
Björn Fischer: Department of Biomedical Engineering and Health Systems, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, 141 57 Huddinge, Sweden
Britt Östlund: Department of Biomedical Engineering and Health Systems, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, 141 57 Huddinge, Sweden
Nicole K. Dalmer: Department of Health, Aging and Society, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M4, Canada
Andrea Rosales: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3), Universitat Oberta de Catalunya/Open University of Catalonia, 08018 Barcelona, Spain
Alexander Peine: Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands
Eugène Loos: School of Governance, Utrecht University, 3511 ZC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Louis Neven: Active Ageing Research Group, Avans University of Applied Sciences, 4800 RA Breda, The Netherlands
Barbara Marshall: Sociology Department, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9L 0G2, Canada

Societies, 2021, vol. 11, issue 2, 1-16

Abstract: Involving older people through co-design has become increasingly attractive as an approach to develop technologies for them. However, less attention has been paid to the internal dynamics and localized socio-material arrangements that enact this method in practice. In this paper, we show how the outcomes that can be achieved with user involvement often pertain to learning, but their content can differ significantly based on how the approach is implemented in practice. Combining explorative, qualitative findings from co-design conducted in four countries (Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden), we illustrate how different types of learning occurred as design workshops engaged the experiences and skills of older people in different ways. Our findings make visible how learning can be a core outcome of co-design activities with older adults, while raising awareness of the role of the power relations and socio-material arrangements that structure these design practices in particular ways. To benefit from the full wealth of insights that can be learned by involving older people, deeper knowledge is needed of the implicit features of design, the materials, meanings, and power aspects involved.

Keywords: ageing; design practice; user involvement; participatory design; socio-gerontechnology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 P P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/11/2/66/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/11/2/66/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:11:y:2021:i:2:p:66-:d:578640

Access Statistics for this article

Societies is currently edited by Ms. Farrah Sun

More articles in Societies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().