Research summary
As people age, a variety of health and other issues can prevent them from socializing as much as they would like. Yet socialization improves mood, cognition and memory, and is associated with healthy behaviours like exercise-so finding ways to help seniors socialize is important. Dr. Karyn Moffatt, Canada Research Chair in Inclusive Social Computing, is looking for innovative ways to use technology to do this.
She and her research team are designing tools to help adults with aphasia (a language disorder that hinders comprehension and expression) communicate with their partners. They are also developing tools to help those with mild to moderate dementia engage in online groups. Finally, they are creating remote assistance tools to enable seniors to get assistance from family and friends when learning new computer technologies. Ultimately, their research will enable seniors to find support among their social networks instead of having to figure everything out themselves.