Role-based Theory Of Social Participation Design Strategies For The Elderly

Currently,aging is a major concern for society.As life expectancy rises and fertility rates fall,the proportion of the geriatric population grows each year.This trend not only places a strain on retirement and medical care,but also threatens the quality of life for the elderly.In this context,the importance of older individuals’ participation in social activities has increased.By engaging in social activities,older individuals can maintain their physical and mental health,improve their social skills,increase their self-esteem and self-confidence,and contribute to the advancement of society.This study uses the social participation activities of the elderly population as its research object,adopts role theory as its theoretical framework,analyzes the current situation and influencing factors of social participation of the elderly,and develops a role model of social participation of the elderly.Family roles and labor roles are found to be the associated roles that influence the social participation roles of the elderly.Based on theoretical research and field studies,this study proposes design strategies and design toolkits for constructing and empowering older adults’ social participation roles,including design strategies for open-ended and inherited roles,as well as design strategies for role transformation empowerment and role stability empowerment.The study also conducted design practice based on the social participation role model,obtained eight types of typical social participation role user profiles of the elderly through fieldwork,and created a designer toolkit and a "vibrant" social participation role platform for the elderly based on the user profiles,as well as validated the usability of the design output.This study’s theoretical framework is based on role theory,and the applicability of role theory to the study of the social participation of the elderly is explored by applying the theory to the study of the elderly.This provides a theoretical and practical foundation for future research in this area.Through the empirical investigation and design practice of this study,the social participation role model of eight categories of older adults was successfully constructed,providing a more precise and detailed description of the target population and research foundation for future research and practice.This study’s design strategies and toolkits can be utilized by designers and the geriatric population,which can inspire designers to create peer-to-peer activities and aid the elderly in enhancing their social circles,expanding interpersonal relationships,and enhancing their quality of life.