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1. Use of Intelligent Voice Assistants by Older Adults with Low Technology Use

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3373759  

   Pradhan, Alisha; Lazar, Amanda; Findlater, Leah (August 2020, ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction)

   Voice assistants embodied in smart speakers (e.g., Amazon Echo, Google Home) enable voice-based interaction that does not necessarily rely on expertise with mobile or desktop computing. Hence, these voice assistants offer new opportunities to different populations, including individuals who are not interested or able to use traditional computing devices such as computers and smartphones. To understand how older adults who use technology infrequently perceive and use these voice assistants, we conducted a 3-week field deployment of the Amazon Echo Dot in the homes of seven older adults. While some types of usage dropped over the 3-week period (e.g., playing music), we observed consistent usage for finding online information. Given that much of this information was health-related, this finding emphasizes the need to revisit concerns about credibility of information with this new interaction medium. Although features to support memory (e.g., setting timers, reminders) were initially perceived as useful, the actual usage was unexpectedly low due to reliability concerns. We discuss how these findings apply to other user groups along with design implications and recommendations for future work on voice-user interfaces. 

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2. An empirical study investigating the user acceptance of a virtual conversational agent interface for family health history collection among the geriatric population

   https://doi.org/10.1177/1460458220955104  

   Ponathil, Amal; Ozkan, Firat; Bertrand, Jeffrey; Agnisarman, Sruthy; Narasimha, Shraddhaa; Welch, Brandon; Chalil Madathil, Kapil (December 2020, Health Informatics Journal)

   null (Ed.)

   Critical for the early diagnosis of genetic disorders, a Family Health History (FHx) can be collected in several ways including electronic FHx tools, which aid easy editing and sharing by linking with other information management portals. The user acceptance of such systems is critical, especially among older adults experiencing motor and cognitive issues. This study investigated two types of FHx interfaces, standard and Virtual Conversational Agent (VCA), using 30 young (between 18 and 30) and 24 older participants (over 60). Workload, usability and performance data were collected. Even though participants required less time to complete three of five tasks on the standard interface, the VCA interface performed better in terms of subjective workload and usability. Additionally, 67% of the older adults preferred the VCA interface since it provided context-based guidance during the data collection process. The results from this study have implications for the use of virtual assistants in FHx and other areas of data collection. 

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3. Data Capture and Analyses from Conversational Devices in the Homes of the Elderly.

   https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34146-6_14  

   Purao, S.; Meng, C. (November 2019, Advances in Conceptual Modeling. ER 2019. Lecture Notes in Computer Science.)

   Guizzardi, G.; Gailly, F.; Suzana, P. (Ed.)

   Conversational devices such as Amazon Echo and Google Home represent more than a way to tap into the behavioral surplus of consumers. They provide an opportunity to address societal problems by examining data streams produced by these devices. In this paper, we describe usage patterns and problems related to the use of Amazon Echo devices at home by one specific demographic: the elderly. We rely on a pilot project to collect usage data over multiple months based on deployment of these devices in the homes of eight elderly individuals who either live alone or with a spouse. The paper describes methods used to ensure confidentiality, data collection and analysis procedures, and our findings. We find that the use of conversational devices remains restricted to single commands instead of conversations, making yourself understood remains a problem, sustained use remains a challenge, and the interaction rarely goes beyond simple commands. We interpret the results, and point to the potential for such devices in the lives of the elderly, specifically for health-related problems. The paper also describes lessons learned for capture and analysis of data from such conversational devices. 

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4. Designing Conversational Assistants to Support Older Adults’ Personal Health Record Access

   https://doi.org/https://doi-org.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/10.1007/978-3-030-99194-4_17  

   Karimi, P.; Ballard, K.; Vazirani, P.; Jorigay, R.T.N.; Martin-Hammond, A. (April 2022, Lecture notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering)

   Older adults often rely on information provided during doctors’ visits or online to manage their health but can experience challenges accessing this information at home. Recently, conversational assistants are being explored to aid navigation of health information included in online portals, but we still know little about users’ perceptions of using these tools for managing personal health information. In this paper, we conducted a wizard-of-oz study to better understand older adults’ perceptions of a conversational assistant, MIHA, to help with navigating personal health information. Participants saw value in using a tool such as MIHA to help facilitate access to their personal health information and to help them become more engaged in their health. Participants believed MIHA’s features helped build confidence in the responses returned, but made suggestions for improving the interactions. We share insights of potential uses and design implications for conversational assistants that help older adults navigate personal health information. 

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5. Accessibility for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Users: Sign Language Conversational User Interfaces

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3405755.3406158  

   Glasser, Abraham; Mande, Vaishnavi; Huenerfauth, Matt (July 2020, Proceedings of the 2nd Conference on Conversational User Interfaces (CUI '20))

   null (Ed.)

   With the proliferation of voice-based conversational user interfaces (CUIs) comes accessibility barriers for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) users. There has not been significant prior research on sign-language conversational interactions with technology. In this paper, we motivate research on this topic and identify open questions and challenges in this space, including DHH users' interests in this technology, the types of commands they may use, and the open design questions in how to structure the conversational interaction in this sign-language modality. We also describe our current research methods for addressing these questions, including how we engage with the DHH community. 

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