SBIR-STTR Award

This project was designed to create an innovative health education program on home safety and injury prevention for older adults. The program will be a CD-ROM/Online/Hybrid that will provide instruction and will transfer learners directly to a dedicated web site for up-to-the- minute information on safety and the opportunity to interact with others. It will also connect users with selected Internet sites offering safety-related information and resources. This program has potential for great commercial appeal since it will be sought out by a host of learners who want to see older friends and relatives stay healthy by avoiding injury and infirmity. It will be useful for families, community groups, and members of the health care professions. The effectiveness of the multimedia teaching program will be tested in a multi- wave panel study to assess features such as hardware interface, software design features, learning outcomes, and knowledge acquisition., A repeated measures ANOVA model will constitute the basic analysis of a sample of 120 tri-ethnic subjects from a senior center. A multimedia computer with easy touchscreen control will make this program and the remainder of this projected series an indispensible tool for positively impacting the health of an aging population. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: This project will produce a unique CD-ROM/Online/Web Hybrid program on injury prevention that will be purchased by multiple users such as: The elderly, their relatives, friends and family of the elderly, schools, and community groups, health care providers, managed care and insurance providers, students in medical, nursing, and allied health professions, and housing contractors.

Thesaurus Terms:
computer assisted instruction, computer program /software, computer system design /evaluation, geriatric medicine, health education, injury prevention, interactive multimedia Internet, education evaluation /planning, human old age (65+), optical data storage human subject

This project was designed to develop and evaluate an innovative multimedia program on home safety and injury prevention for older adults and their families. Investigators will create a unique health education resource combining a multimedia instructional system, Internet communication, and touch screen technology to help the elderly maintain their health and functional independence by avoiding costly injuries and infirmities. Making Homes Safe for Seniors is a CD-ROM /Online/Hybrid that provides instruction in English and Spanish, and will connect learners to a dedicated web site where they can seek advice from experts, share adaptive home repair solutions with others, perform an interactive safety check-up of their living environment, and shop for adaptive devices and safety items. The program is accessible to a wide range of learners since the easy-to-use touch screen operation obviates the need for technical skills while the graphics and narration mitigate the need for reading skills. Feasibility testing of a prototype module in Phase I showed a significant impact on learning and positive acceptance of the multimedia delivery system by older learners. Extensive formative evaluation during the program completion process will be conducted with 130 elderly subjects from an inner city community Center for Senior Citizens. A multi-wave panel study will assess the short and longer-term impact of the finalized program on knowledge acquisition, risk reduction, and incidence of injuries in the home environment. A repeated measures ANOVA model will constitute the basic analysis of a sample of 120 tri-ethnic subjects. This program has wide commercial appeal and will be sought out by a host of learners including families, community groups, and members of the health care professions who will make this program and the remainder of the projected series an indispensable tool for positively impacting the health of an aging population.

Thesaurus Terms:
computer assisted instruction, computer program /software, educational resource design /development, geriatric medicine, health education, injury prevention, interactive multimedia DVD /CD ROM, Internet, computer system design /evaluation, education evaluation /planning, human old age (65+), safety equipment human subject