New research highlights how technology can be used to remind people who forget

Forgetting to take your medication? Not remembering to water the plants or put the cat out? Getting forgetful with age does not need to affect independence - new research has looked at how current technologies can be used to help provide reminders to assist older people in decision making. These assistive technologies have significant potential to help older people and their carers in everyday life. 

The research investigated the reminder systems currently used by a small group of older people; their attitudes to technology; and, through some simple experiments, their reaction to certain reminders presented using a variety of simple technologies and formats. It found that to be effective, messages and messaging systems need to be tailored to the particular behaviours and routines of individuals.  

The research found that older people currently use different personal reminder strategies. These often include relying on family members who may give phone call reminders, keeping diaries, calendars and notes, and memory joggers. Generally, the participants in the study disliked impersonal services, such as those provided by call-centres, and preferred the interaction which accompanies a telephone conversation.

Dr Shaun Lawson from the University of Lincoln said "various technology-based reminder systems were trialled in our study with some success, although the effectiveness of a particular system was to some extent dependent on the particular activity taking place at the time. For example, spoken reminders worked well when someone was undertaking a quiet task such as reading, but less so when watching TV, for which, repeated on-screen messages worked best. Overall, it appears that to be effective, messages and messaging systems have to be tailored to the particular behaviours and routines of the individual."