Basia Belza, PhD, RN, FAANUniversity of Washington

User Tools and Technologies in Facilitating Community Wayfinding

The CDC HAN is a thematic research network within CDC's Prevention Research Centers Program and is supported through the CDC's Healthy Aging Program.

Disclosure: Basia Belza

The following personal financial relationships with commercial interests relevant to this

presentation existed during the past 12 months:

No relationships to disclose

William A. SatarianoMarlon Maus

Rebecca H. HunterDaniela B. Friedman

Anna VandenbergAngie Deokar

Laura FarrenLucinda L. Bryant

Mariko ToyojiNai-Ching ChiSean MullenIndia Rose

Yuki Durham

Abstract

Ensuring effective community wayfinding (CWF) is critical for maintaining mobility among older adults. Reduced mobility, associated with either age or disability, is a public health burden. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the role of user tools and technologies in facilitating CWF in older adults and people with mobility disabilities. Wayfinding tools and aids used by people to support mobility and/or navigation include but are not limited to smartphones, compasses, maps, and written directions. We report the results of a review and synthesis of the literature on user tools and technologies as related to CWF. In our review we include but are not limited to populations with sensory and/or cognitive impairments. We propose new research directions, including the need to better understand the use of tools in everyday settings and how tool-use relates to public health outcomes such as increased physical activity. We summarize opportunities and challenges of user tools and technologies, such as those associated with barriers and the equitable distribution of these technologies in underserved populations. Without a consideration of these barriers, CWF innovations, no matter how efficacious and effective, may only serve to aggravate health and functional disparities by race, ethnicity, and region in aging populations.

Purpose

Discuss the role of user tools and technologies in facilitating community wayfinding in older adults and people with disabilities.

Photo credit: Ed Stollof

Tools and Technology – An Ecological View

…devices and systems to enhance the ability of individuals and populations to locate themselves and find their way safely through indoor and outdoor environments with ease, efficiency and effectiveness.

Wayfinding user tools and technologies are…

Types

1. User-based2. Environment-based3. User-environment interactive4. Wayfinding systems

Audible Signal, Ed Stollof Easter Seals Project ACTION

1. What innovative WF technologies exist or are emerging to ensure that adults are better able to find their way through indoor and outdoor environments?

2. What are the implications of WF technology and dissemination for public health?

Review Steps

Plan Develop a process and abstraction forms and a reviewer guideTrain team membersIdentify search strategies and inclusion and exclusion criteria

Search & Appraise

Run the searchComplete primary and secondary abstractionsReconcile reviews

Synthesize & Share

Extract findingsSummarize learningsDisseminate

Primary Abstraction

n = 106

Secondary Abstraction

n = 106

Excluded

485 + 23 = 508

-Published pre-2003-Non-English language

-Basic science-Clinical focus

-Pertaining to children-Evacuation systems-Systems that track

people with dementia-Computer-focused

-Mobility-focused tools-Product dev tech

-Not related to CWF-Low tech

Selected for FinalReview/Analysis

n = 83

Our Process

AbstractionReconciliation

n = 106

Records Identifiedand Prescreened

n = 591

What areas of WF are addressed (n=83)?

*Percent of the total

Navigation

Orientation

Route Planning

Closure

Path Integration

Other

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

What types of articles are used (n=83)?

Perc

ent o

f the

tota

l

Empiric

alOther

Quasi-Ex

perimen

tal

Experi

mental

RCT0

20

40

60

80

100

What was the setting (n=83)?Pe

rcen

t of t

he to

tal

Outdoor Indoor Virtual0

102030405060708090

100

What types of technologies are addressed (n=83)?

Perc

ent o

f the

tota

l

User-base

d

User-En

vironmen

t

Way

finding Syst

ems

Envir

onment-b

ased

0

20

40

60

80

100

Does the technology address functional factors related to use (n=83)?

Perc

ent o

f the

tota

l

Vision Cognition Hearing Dexterity Gait or Balance

0102030405060708090

100

Observations

1. Most studies of adults with sensory deficits, e.g., vision impairment; few studies of older adults.

2. Most studies from information sciences and environmental psychology.

3. Most studies based on small samples.

4. Limited focus on issues of socioeconomic barriers to access and cultural impact of WF technology.

New Directions

1. Use of technologies in everyday settings2. Link to public health outcomes3. Accessibility, demographic, socioeconomic,

and cultural factors4. Collaborations between WF technology

developers and public health professionals

Thank you for your interest!Contact: basiab@uw.edu

This presentation is the result of work conducted by the CDC Healthy Aging Research Network. The CDC Healthy Aging Research Network is a Prevention Research Centers program funded by the CDC Healthy Aging Program. This research was supported in part by cooperative agreements from CDC's Prevention Research Centers Program: U48-DP-001911, 001908, 001921, 001924, 001936, 001938, and 001944. The contents of this presentation are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC.