Attitudes of Older Adults towards Self-Assessment of Mental Health, Safety and Wellbeing

The number of older people within our society continues to grow. At the same time, nations are looking for ways to offer the same quality of care with a lesser economic burden. One way of mitigating health-care costs is by self-monitoring and self-assessment, by which older people can followup their own health and wellbeing. This could be an improvement for health care professionals who can focus more on those who are in need. However, it is unclear whether seniors equally perceive self-assessments as an improvement. This qualitative study explored seniors’ attitudes towards selfassessment questionnaires and how they envision self-measuring mental health and wellbeing. Such an understanding can help define user requirements for a self-assessment system that is welcomed by older adults. To this end, a focus group interview with six participants – older than 65 years and still living independently – was set up. During this focus group, various topics – self-reliance, social contact, financial means, healthy diet and active leisure – that are important to the senior’s wellbeing were addressed. Not all participants were in favour of an online self-assessment. Some also indicated that questions should focus more on their capabilities and not on their failings. It is the objective of our current research project to improve GRaCE-AGE further and tailor it for self-assessments by older adults.status: publishe