Interviewing the Elderly

Recently, I participated in a very interesting project, which was a UX research on an assistive health device for the elderly. This was the first time I had worked with elderly users in China. I had some experience with elderly users during my Master’s program in the UK. The research method used was interviews, which is a commonly used and effective data collection method, primarily suited for qualitative analysis. Interviews can be classified into three types based on their structure: Structured, Semi-structured, and Unstructured Interviews. In this study, Semi-structured Interviews were used. The interviewees ranged in age from 66 to 86 years' old, a wide age range. Due to the specific nature of the project, all the elderly users involved had hearing loss (due to aging or disease). After going through this unique interview experience, I felt it was necessary to record and share my reflections.

Generally, elderly people with moderate to severe hearing loss often experience speech function decline due to long-term social isolation, which can cause communication difficulties during interviews. Therefore, when asking questions, it is essential to slow down your speech. If communication issues arise, it is crucial to closely observe the elderly person’s feedback (verbal, facial expressions, body language) to understand whether the communication breakdown is because the person didn’t hear clearly or because they didn’t understand. If they didn’t hear clearly, further slowing down, raising the volume, and repeating the question may be necessary. If they didn’t understand, different ways of phrasing the question should be tried. From my observation, the family members or children who accompanied the elderly to the interviews were better at communicating with the elderly. So, if a family member, child, or someone familiar is present during the interview, they can be asked to assist in “translating,” thereby improving communication efficiency. If, after several attempts, communication still fails, or if the elderly person repeatedly gives irrelevant answers, it might be best to skip the question to avoid causing emotional discomfort.

An Elder Demonstrating During the Interview

Sometimes, the elderly person’s response may stray from the question. From my observation, this mainly occurs when asking open-ended questions or demographic questions, as elderly people often like to talk about their life experiences and daily routines. In such cases, it’s important not to rush to bring the topic back and try not to interrupt the elderly person’s storytelling, as useful information may be found in their stories, such as their daily living situations. It is important to keep the elderly person in a talkative state and create a relaxed, comfortable conversation atmosphere, which also helps to obtain more “depth” in the interview. If the content of the elderly person’s response is too irrelevant, after considering factors like time and progress, you can try to bring the topic back, but avoid interrupting the elderly person while they are speaking. Look for an appropriate “entry point,” such as a natural pause in the elderly person’s storytelling, and seize the opportunity to give feedback or evaluate what they said, then bring the topic back.

This interview activity also included some User Testing content. I found that some elderly people became anxious when they could not complete a task for a long time, and as described in the literature, elderly people tend to blame themselves. So in the latter half of the study, I stopped using the word “task” and replaced it with “demonstration.” Also, it is important to provide reassurance at the right time and pay attention to the elderly person’s emotional changes. If necessary, the task can be stopped to avoid significant emotional fluctuations in the elderly.

An Elder Playing a “Game”

In addition to what has been mentioned above, it is important to pay attention to the elderly person’s physiological needs. The interview should not be too long, and the pace should be slow. If the location can provide warm water and tissues, that would be a big plus.

Due to the special nature of the project, most of the elderly users involved in the interviews were highly educated, with high income levels and social status. These elderly people were mostly clear-thinking, mentally active, and had strong comprehension abilities. Some even had relatively good memory retention, and these elderly people had a higher acceptance of technology. More than half of them used smartphones, and many used WeChat (including an 86-year-old participant). It is foreseeable that if the interviewees were switched to the general elderly population, the difficulty might be greater. Therefore, UX researchers need to reasonably arrange their schedule to maintain full energy.

Above all, when interviewing elderly users, please be patient, and try to be more patient, please be caring, and try to be more caring.