Nurses Are Wearing Age Simulation Suits—And It’s Making Them Smarter, Kinder Caregivers
Ever tried to help your grandparent or elderly patient use a smartphone? If so, you get it! The gap between tech developers and older users is vast. But there's a promising solution: aging simulator suits. It's like Halloween for tech developers, but instead of dressing up as ghosts, they're dressing up as older adults!
Experience Old Age Without the AARP Card
These aging simulator suits are the latest trend in app development. According to a study by Andrea Gaggioli and colleagues, presented at the 7th International Conference MindCare 2018, these suits let young developers experience aging challenges. The suits come with weights and vision-distorting glasses, limiting dexterity and messing with vision, making you feel like you're carrying a sack of potatoes on each limb.
In the study, participants tried to complete app tasks while wearing the suit and struggled, mirroring older adults' performance with slower task completion and more errors. It's a "walk a mile in their shoes" kind of deal, and the shoes feel heavy.
Why This Matters to Nurses
Trying an age simulation suit as a nurse can provide a powerful, firsthand understanding of the physical and sensory challenges faced by older adults, ultimately helping you deliver more compassionate and effective care. By experiencing reduced mobility, impaired vision, and limited dexterity, you gain insight into why everyday tasks, such as using a smartphone or navigating a room-become much more difficult for older patients, leading to frustration and vulnerability.
This immersive experience fosters greater empathy, patience, and respect for your patients’ needs, motivating you to allow more time for care, listen more attentively, and tailor your approach to each individual’s unique challenges. Ultimately, wearing an age simulator can transform your perspective, making you a more present, understanding, and patient-centered nurse.
@techmoments_ Aging Simulator Suit With this simulation suit, characteristics of the elderly, such as step limiting, knee flexion, and stooping, can be simulated. Credits: @ elenitaababiano / TT @ stjosephslondon / YT @ carl6695 / YT #tech #technology #engineering #innovative #fyp ♬ original sound - tech moments
The Fine Print
Of course, the suits aren't perfect. They can’t mimic the cognitive changes or the emotional side of aging. It's like trying to bake a cake with only half the ingredients—you're bound to miss a few key flavors.
But still, these simulator suits are a step in the right direction. They help bridge the empathy gap in tech design and offer hope that future apps might actually work for older adults. For nurses, this means fewer tech headaches and more time focusing on the care part of healthcare.
Whether you’re directly involved in app design or not, grasping the challenges older adults face with technology is vital for every nurse. When you see efforts—like using age simulation suits—to make technology more accessible for seniors, recognize the value in these initiatives. They help improve the tools you use every day and ultimately make your work with older patients a little easier.
🤔 Nurses, share your thoughts in the discussion forum below.
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