Storytelling games for social connection and reminiscing by older people

随着人们寿命的延长，全球老年人的数量也在增长。这就提出了一个日益严重的问题：越来越多的老年人感到孤独。目前，超过四分之一的65岁以上的成年人被社会孤立。仅在英国，就有100多万老年人一个多月不和朋友、家人或邻居说话，140万老年人长期孤独。孤独与痴呆、心脏病、心理健康状况不佳和早逝的风险增加有关。孤独给公众健康带来的风险解释了为什么解决老年人的孤独问题是英国政府和联合国的一个关键优先事项。我们的项目旨在减少老年人的孤独感，特别是那些社会经济地位较低的老年人，以确保设计出一个所有人都可以使用的解决方案。我们为低社会经济地位的老年人提供一种新颖、愉快和吸引人的方式，让他们在社区中轻松认识新朋友，并与彼此、家人、朋友和更广泛的社会建立和深化关系。我们的解决方案尤其适用于老年人因丧亲之痛、缩小规模或需要额外的支持或护理需求而不得不搬家的情况。我们正在提议一款增强现实棋盘游戏，它有助于讲故事、回忆、捕捉和庆祝生活。这创造了高质量的联系，是一种面对面或远程的社交体验。最重要的是，这是一种由老年人自己发起和指导的体验。我们正在与社会经济地位较低的老年人共同设计这个游戏，以确保一个可访问，低成本和包容性的解决方案。

As people live longer, the number of older adults globally is growing. This presents a growing problem: the number of older adults experiencing loneliness. Currently, over a quarter of adults over 65 are socially isolated. In the UK alone, over a million older adults go more than a month without speaking to friends, family or neighbours, and 1.4 million are chronically lonely. Loneliness is associated with increased risk of dementia, heart disease, poor mental health and early death. The risk loneliness poses to public health explains why addressing loneliness for older adults is a key priority for the UK government and the UN.Our project aims to reduce loneliness in older adults, particularly those of low socioeconomic status (SES), to ensure a solution is designed which is accessible to all. We propose a novel, enjoyable and engaging way for older adults of low SES to get to know new people easily within their community, as well as build and deepen relationships with each other, their families, friends and wider society. Our solution is particularly relevant for when older adults have had to move, often due to bereavement, downsizing or requiring additional support or care needs. We are proposing an augmented reality board game that facilitates storytelling, reminiscing, and capturing and celebrating lives. This creates quality connection and is a social experience played in-person or remotely. Most importantly, this is an experience initiated and directed by older adults themselves. We are co-designing this game with older adults of low socioeconomic status, ensuring an accessible, low cost and inclusive solution.