How might we make the lives of the 70+ elders hassle-free?

( This is a project for an IDEO-U Insights for Innovation online course I completed in 2016). Amazing course, I must add.

Insight Development

Insight 1:

Triggers:

"Movement is the secret for elders to stay healthy but they are not motivated to do that"

"Elders crave the company of children - are like anti-depressants, de-stressors"

Key insight: "Children can motivate elders to move around"

Possible idea:

"Dance of the Extremes"?- a specially choreographed dance for elders where they perform with young children.

Insight 2:

Triggers:

"I would love to escape from home and go on a sightseeing tour"

"Time - it is hanging on us."

Insight: Help elders spend time on what they love to do.

Possible idea:

Timeless Tours -?Young?Escorts take the elders on a city tour and visit places of interest to them. Probably in a limousine.

Insight 3:

Triggers:

"Great joy meeting old friends, sharing old memories."

"Little gifts are so exciting. It shows that we still matter."

"Elders not comfortable with new technology"

Insight: Help elders re-live old memories in an enjoyable way

Possible idea:

Memories from the past

Children collect old pictures and other memorabilia collected over a period of time,

gift-wrap them and send them to their parents. It could add a letter from a friend, a short video, etc. This could rekindle communication.

Concerns

Are these qualified to be called insights? I think they do inform, inspire and motivate some action.

?Detailed observations & clustering/themes are reproduced below

?Step 1

There are over 100 data points captured on post-its.

?Step2

Emerging themes based on clusters:

Money

Stress

Children

Old age homes

Expectation

Old age/Loneliness/Death

Connectedness

Aspiration

Emotional needs

Time

Products/Services

Body/Health

AHA Moments

Money

Frugality. 70+ people don't want to spend money. To the extent that they are?Stingy. Parsimonious.

"They will walk a mile to make a free phone call."

"Oxygen keeps you alive, money keeps you going"

"Expenditure without income is a slow death"

"Necessity Yes. Luxury No."

"Pleasure is Sin."

Stress

"Obsessed with trivia"

"Worry about things, not in their control"

"Inability to cope with rapidly changing technology"

"Small detail cause stress, compounded by failing memory"

"I can't handle the mobile. It is too complicated"

Children

"Kids are like anti-depressants, de-stressors"

"They make us forget our worries."

"Their Innocense makes us forget all our problems"

"Miss our grandchildren. Wish they can visit us more often."

Old Age Homes

"Old age homes are not the panacea for all ills. It is a myth."

"Old age homes built with cement, concrete, and steel without love & care are prisons, where we feel sentenced for life."

Expectations

"Preserving Dignity & independence is of the utmost importance"

"High expectation."

"I am old, respect me"

"Don't pity me, I am not a beggar."

"At this age, I am?entitled?to get the best. "

Old Age/Loneliness/Death

"Death is not the enemy, indifference is"

"At my age, I am not afraid of death. I am afraid of living."

"Old age is a punishment worse than death."

"Don't mistake old age with wisdom"

Connectedness/Networking

"Great joy, meeting friends and sharing old memories."

"Nostalgia is a great tonic for us."

"Delighted by surprise visits & small talk."

"Come sit next to me and hold my hands."

"Yearn for companionship"

"Little gifts are so exciting. It shows we still matter"

Emotional Needs

"Kids who happen to be 70+"

"Make me feel wanted."

"Nobody has time anymore for me or what excites me."

"I am not a disposable napkin or diaper."

"Yearning for attention & love"

"Ah! Would love a little pampering from time to time!"

"Want to escape from this place, at least for a couple of hours."

"I would love to go on a sightseeing trip or a picnic. Ages since I went like that with friends"

"Crave for attention and love."

"Spoil me with love. Don't need your money or gifts."

Aspiration

How might we elevate their level of existence

How might we help them make their old age into a masterpiece

How might I make my aging into a masterpiece

How might I measure my well being

(Influenced by Dr. Roger Landry's Work)

?Time

"I want to murder time. Not just kill it."

"It is all Karma. It was determined I would lead my old age like this, even before I was born."

"What you can't cure, endure"

"Time - it is hanging on us."

Body/Health

"Fall is the beginning of an end"

"Live long, die short"

"Movement is your secret. Keep moving. Even when at home."

"Just get up & go"

"Balance is everything"

"Be active physically & mentally"

"Keep body & mind in top condition"

Products/Services

"Any product or service which is just functional may not work"

"Design products or services that enmesh the current reality of the elder's life. Recognize their hopes, fears, and concerns. "

"High price, high margin products/services may not work, even amongst wealthy elders."

Surprising

I could make interesting connections between data points apparently unconnected. Felt quite good. Creating insights is a creative process.?

Challenging

I am plagued by doubt: is what I have written an 'insight'? Yes, it informs, inspires & motivates action.

I did not find anything difficult about the process. I rather enjoyed it.

(All observations were based on interviews with a respondent who is 70+, a youngster who is about to get married, a couple from the USA,?whose aged parents live alone in Chennai, and an expert sociologist/expert in Eldercare.)

?RS: July 13, 2016