Introduction

The aging of the population is a phenomenon faced by many nations, such as Mexico, in which 7.5% of the population is 60 years or older. It is estimated that by 2030 this figure will be more than double, reaching 17.5% [CONAPO, 2004]. Among those elders, 10% of them live alone with no close family members around them. This condition is more likely to occur in some regions of Mexico as it is related with the ever increasing migration of one or more of their relatives to the USA. The living conditions of those elders can be quite complex as they often face the impossibility of visiting or being visited by their families as they lack proper documentation (VISAS or residency permits). And even when this is not a problem, distance and cost might reduce direct contact to one visit every other year. As it has been found, lack of contact with family members and friends may have a negative impact on elder’s health, such as accelerating a cognitive decline [Morris et al., 2003; Bassuk et al., 1999]. Thus, Mexican elders in this situation face particular challenges that might aggravate some of the well known effects of living with no close companionship.

Our work aims to provide a technological solution focused on supporting the relationship between elder people living alone in Mexico and their relatives living abroad. In order to provide adequate support for this scenario we have to understand, from the perspective of those experiencing this situation, what are the challenges and circumstances around living alone for an elder person. Consequently, for the design of our solution we adopted an empirical approach and based it on a combination of interviews and in situ evaluations.

Departing from an initial understanding of the context of the phenomenon, we conducted interviews that served to inform scenarios and to envision a preliminary design of the system.

Interviews

The inquiry to derive the design of the system was then oriented towards understanding the emotional needs of Mexican elders with families living abroad. We wished to gain knowledge about the experiences of elders in regards the following five main aspects: communication with relatives, feelings of isolation, health care, keeping updated with things around them such as family events, and being self-dependent.

Methods

An analysis of characteristics of elders experiencing our target scenario lead us to determine typical profiles. From there, we identified a number of individuals with those profiles and who were likely to share with us their experiences. We included people of different gender, age and living in different geographical regions on Mexico. Among the initial group of five people that we identified only three individuals were able to have an interview with us. Our interviews were semi-structured and were conducted within the home environment (e.g. the kitchen) following standards and recommendations for qualitative interviews [McCracken, 1988].

Results

The interviews were analyzed by the authors using a comparative verification of evidence which resulted on the identification of major themes for each topic of inquiry. In this section we explained some of the most relevant results.

The loneliness increases when I feel sick.

We found that the main mode of communication with relatives living abroad was the telephone which basically is used to update each other about news and recent family events. Phone calls are not always frequent and are more likely to occur at special occasions such as birthdays or holidays or when some emergent issues arise (e.g. accidents or other major problems). All our informants expressed their preference to being in constant communication with their families, but recognized that this is not always possible. One of our informants expressed that the impossibility of communicating on a more regular basis can bring some sadness to her.

Our grandchildren love to look at the album and asks us what her mother used to do when she was a kid.

Our results also highlighted the importance given by elderly people to photo albums. It is a real treasure to them. Moreover, they intend to acquire a video camera to record all the visits of their relatives. This showed us that pictures are artifacts from which we could take advantage of, due to the stories and emotive load associated to them.

I am learning English.

Finally, it was interesting to find that those elders interviewed show disposition to engage in learning new things. As a way to keep them active, some of them are taking courses (e.g. English lessons). Similarly, another person is going to elementary school and is very proud of her achievements and motivated to continue her studies for as long as she can. This disposition to learn can be very relevant for the purposes of introducing any technological solution.

Based on these findings and our preliminary understanding of the phenomenon, we engaged in designing a system to support the emotional ties among Mexican elders and their families living abroad, focusing on a way to enhance their communication.