Persuasive Technologies for Active Ageing

Most of the world countries are challenged with a large ageing population who spend most of their time at home and are mostly sedentary (8.5 hours per day as of today). Sedentary behavior and physical inactivity affect the social, physical and mental states of people leading to social isolation and physical declines and hence an ideal candidate for chronic and degenerative diseases. To maintain an active aging process (healthy state of physical, mental and social wellbeing), regular and daily exercising is necessary. However, many older adults do not maintain regular exercising due to poor health, lack of company, lack of motivation, lack of transportation and suitable outdoor facilities. In this context, home based physical exercises can help people maintain their physical activity and ICT can act as a key player and facilitator by providing interactive training applications (through desktops and mobile devices), self-monitoring (using activity trackers and wearables) and automated coaching (using rule-based systems or remote assistance). Yet, for many people and, in particular, the sedentary older population at home; even with the existence of the technology, there is not enough motivation to maintain a regular exercising routine. Thus, this thesis aims to investigate the IT-mediated persuasive strategies that help independent-living older adults at home to maintain a regular exercising lifestyle. In particular, this research examines the effect of social inclusion and group exercising on the motivation of trainees at home to adhere to the training program which has proven to be effective.