DEVELOPING AN AGEING-ORIENTED INTERFACE DESIGN OF SMART PRODUCTS FRAMEWORK TO IMPROVE TYPE II DIABETIC ELDERLY’S TECHNOLOGICAL ACCEPTANCE IN COMPLYING WITH A HEALTHY DIET

The rising prevalence of type II diabetes among the elderly has created an urgent demand for effective and accessible healthcare solutions. Smart products offer promising support for healthy diet management; however, age-related declines in cognitive, physical, and sensory abilities often reduce elderly users’ acceptance of new technologies. To address these challenges, this study investigates the dietary needs of individuals aged 60 and above living with diabetes in Guangzhou city, Guangdong province, China, identifies key factors influencing their eating behaviours, and examines critical elements of smart product interface design that shape user acceptance. The ultimate goal is to develop an ageing-oriented interface design of smart products framework. Adopting an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach, qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaires were conducted to explore the dietary needs of elderly individuals with diabetes, attitudes toward healthy eating, and perceptions of smart product design. This process informed the development of a Product Design Specification (PDS), which subsequently guided the final development of the framework. Results identified key internal variables—including perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), perceived enjoyment (PE), and self-efficacy (SE)—as direct predictors of behavioural intention. External design variables such as functional design (FD) and interface design (ID) indirectly enhanced acceptance by shaping PEOU and PU. The validated framework thus provides structured guidelines for interface, function, and appearance design, ensuring that smart products are both usable and meaningful to elderly individuals with diabetes. The PDS translated insights into a conceptual design (prototype) featuring dietary planning, health management, food recognition, knowledge education, and activity tracking. Usability testing confirmed the prototype’s accessibility and validated the accuracy of the PDS, which in turn informed the framework; expert review further confirmed the framework’s robustness and broader applicability to ageing-oriented product development. This study advances understanding of how ageing-oriented design enhances technological acceptance and demonstrates the feasibility of combining technology acceptance models with need-driven design. The validated framework provides valuable references for designers, researchers, and healthcare stakeholders in creating accessible smart products that promote independence and improve quality of life for the elderly managing chronic conditions.