In this talk, I’ll present our paper
Understanding The Use Of Crisis Informatics Technology Among Older Adults
We are increasingly experiencing disasters and crises
including floods
tornados
and wildfires that have significantly impacted human life
This is particularly true for vulnerable populations such as older adults
adults who are more likely to suffer from mobility, sensory, and cognitive limitations
that may impede decision making and taking actions during crises
Information and Communication Technologies
such as crisis apps and social media
have been used to mitigate the effects of emergencies and crises
This body of work is also known as crisis informatics
an interdisciplinary research area
that investigates the interconnectedness of people
organizations
information and technology during crises
However, while researchers have studied the role of crisis informatics tools
in the general population
there has been less work examining
how specific populations, such as older adults
use these technologies and the particular needs that may arise in these populations
And yet, technology adoption is growing amongst older adults
About 67% of older adults in the United States use the Internet
and 42% own smartphones
These trends, together with older adults’ increased vulnerability during crises
requires research that examines the needs and values of older populations
during emergency situations
One critical perspective to understand is older adults’ feelings about
the services provided by emergency preparedness and response resources
For example
coercive measures taken during emergencies can threaten a person’s sense of control and dignity
Therefore, research is needed to examine how to address these fundamental human rights
especially in populations where these values are particularly threatened
Two research questions guided our work
First, how have older adults used crisis apps
which seek to provide help during emergencies
and what are their perspectives on using such tools in the future?
Second
To what extent do existing crisis apps address older adults’ values during emergency situations?
To answer these two questions
We conducted a qualitative study to explore the perceived value of using crisis apps among older adults
Upon approval from the Institutional Review Board at our institution
we recruited 16 participants
including 5 male and 11 female
from a community center in an urban city in the Northeastern United States
All participants were affected by the gas explosion emergency
in the Northeast region of Massachusetts in September 2018
Each participant completed a semi-structured interview
regarding their experiences during the gas explosion
For example
how they received the information about the crisis
their responses to the information and evacuation process
as well as if they have any prior experience of using the apps
At the end of the first session
they were given diary kits to complete before the next session
to help them begin reflecting on how useful they feel technologies can be in times of crisis
Each kit contained 6 days of activities
The diary kits contained two major components
six envelopes with screenshots of mobile apps that seek to support people during emergencies
Each of the envelopes contained screenshots
of one of the selected apps
as well as a hand-sized journal
In the journal, we used labels with assorted colors to differentiate each day of the diary period
from Day 1 to Day 6
Each day, participants were asked to open one envelope
review the app screenshots in the envelope
and reflect upon the app in their journal
This reflection was guided by the prompt
"Please tell us a story about using this app"
Your story can be real or fictional
Through this storytelling, participants would begin to reflect upon
how and why they may or may not use different apps
The second session was scheduled 1-2 weeks after the first session
This session was an in-depth semi-structured interview
guided by our initial analysis of the interview data
from the first session and the completed diary
Participants were asked to talk through their journals
In this presentation, I highlight some of the findings
Half of our participants first learned about the gas explosion crisis
and emergency evacuation order through interpersonal channels
such as phone calls from family and friends
1/3 of them learned from Reverse 9-1-1
which sends automated telephone calls that are managed by local emergency management agencies
Three participants first learned about the gas explosion via crisis apps
We found that most participants were not aware of mobile crisis apps
Only four of them said they had heard of such technologies
such as FEMA and MEMA
and three mentioned that they used such tools before the gas explosion crisis
Among those who knew these crisis apps
they were all engaged in community volunteer work following retirement
including volunteering at a community center that was used
as an emergency shelter during the gas explosion crisis
Despite the lack of awareness of and low engagement with crisis apps
most participants acknowledged that technology-driven alerts can be very useful during emergencies
Such alert messages could help them stay on top of crisis situations and react properly
They also indicated that they were willing to consider
using these technologies in the future
Our findings also suggest that the privacy and information security concerns
around social media were not only coming from
trust issues with the platforms themselves
but also are associated with older adults’ vulnerability to misinformation (e.g., spam) in times of crisis
With regards to social media institutions
while they allow for connecting with trusted individuals and organizations
participants expressed concern and a lack of trust in
how the information may be used by other organizations
or individuals connected to these technology platforms
Our participants believed that
being able to connect to first responders
such as emergency medical staff, police officers, and firefighters
and provide them with more information could enable personalized treatment
During emergencies, it is not unusual for people to feel stressed and anxious
Enabling individuals to connect and share medical information with first responders
can help them react more effectively to individuals’ specific medical needs
This personalization would in turn provide reassurance
further enhancing their sense of control, safety, and dignity
To move forward and advance the crisis informatics research
we suggest future work that examines approaches
to promoting awareness of and engagement with crisis informatics tools
as well as addressing human values as design goals
Particularly, our findings highlight the value of
leveraging community-based organizations to
increase awareness of and engagement with new tools
such as the crisis applications
Specifically, given the vital role that neighborhood institutions
such as community centers and fire departments play during emergency scenarios
There is a great opportunity to explore how tools
can be designed to better connect older adults and neighborhood organizations
Such systems could enable older adults
to communicate their needs to local organizations
providing disaster response services
Also, designing platforms that thoughtfully bootstrap technology learning communities
might help connect older adults with varying degrees of prior exposure to crisis apps
Being introduced to and trained by
people who they trust, such as family and friends
or staff at community centers that older adults are familiar with
These approaches might help reduce the anxiety of technology adoption and
increase the self-efficacy of using the new technology
In this work, we also explored how well existing technologies address
some key human values in times of crisis
including the sense of control, safety, and dignity
We want to highlight several open research questions that will need further investigation
First, care must be taken to investigate how sense of control and dignity can be impacted
when technology fails to work as expected
such as when responders are delayed
or when trust in such tools are low
Second
Can the same technology be used to address multiple populations
such as those with disabilities, and low socioeconomic status?
To conclude
our work examines the intersection of the vulnerability of older adults during emergencies
and the role of crisis informatics technologies
previously-unavailable knowledge regarding older adults’ perceptions towards crisis apps
including perspectives on how well such tools address their basic and esteem needs
Given the increasing frequency of large and destructive disaster events
there is an important need for future work
that examines how crisis apps and technologies can be designed to meet the needs of all
with a particular focus on empowering vulnerable populations
Thanks for listening!
For more information, please refer to our full paper
Understanding the use of crisis informatics technology among older adults
in the CHI2020 Proceedings