"The number of people over the age of 65 is increasing worldwide with the fastest growing subgroup those aged 80+ years. Computer and information technologies hold promise in terms of increasing the quality of life for older people. However, successful use of technology by older adults is predicated on systems that are designed to accommodate the needs and preferences of this user group. This paper discusses the implications of age-related changes in cognition for system design. Generally, the existing literature shows that, although older adults are willing to use technology, many report usability problems with existing systems and these problems may in part be due to the cognitive and perceptual demands placed on the user. These findings are discussed in terms of guidelines for system design."

The Web offers older adult users immediate access to health resources that might not otherwise be available. Older adult users, however, may encounter Web barriers associated with normal aging and lower education. The National Institute on Aging Web guidelines were used to assess the usability of 125 Web sites offering health resources. Performance, translation, and reading complexity were also assessed. Results showed that many of the sampled sites were not senior-friendly. Only 12% of the sites offered a Spanish version, many containing nontranslated text. Approximately a third of sampled sites required a college education to comprehend extracted health information.