Valentina Guadagno

consigo

A digital platform to motivate older adults to follow cognitive and physical training

This project, in collaboration with the Portuguese company Neuroinova, tackles the pressing need to support an active, healthy lifestyle for older adults experiencing cognitive decline. With Europe’s population aging rapidly, interventions that enhance both cognitive function and physical well-being are increasingly vital. The goal was to encourage adherence to a remote training program by ensuring an engaging experience and a close relationship with their physiotherapist based on trust and guidance. This was achieved by designing dual-task training sessions to integrate seamlessly into Neuroinova's cognitive training platform, COGWEB®, combining cognitive and physical exercises for holistic health support.

A digital platform to motivate older adults to follow cognitive and physical training

The process

For this project, the Double Diamond design approach was used to guide the process. It began with a broad exploration of user habits, barriers and motivators related to remote training programs, in particular towards physical exercise programs, and ideal relationships with health specialists. Research methods included focus groups with stakeholders (neuropsychologists, physiotherapists, gerontologists, and researchers from Universidade de Aveiro —responsible for the scientific research behind the company's product development—), literature reviews, and interactive workshops with end users.

In these workshops, participants engaged in the creation of visual artefacts like timelines and collages to share preferences, daily routines, and ideal remote physical exercise experiences. This mixed-methods approach provided deeper insights into their expectations and needs, accommodating participants with cognitive impairments.

Following this, I converged the insights to define a clear design goal. Using an adapted Research through Design method, I developed multiple prototypes simulating exercise sessions, testing interaction features and activities to gradually refine the concept.

The final phase involved refining the platform for exercise sessions and testing the completed concept, with evaluations confirming initial goals and identifying potential long-term improvements for sustainable user engagement.

The problem exploration lead to the identification of two main user groups targeted from Neuroinova's program based on their daily activity levels: the sedentary and the busy active people.

The two group's main barriers, motivators and general attitude can be summarized in the following problem statements.

SEDENTARY

Elderly individuals with a sedentary lifestyle lack motivation to start physical exercises due to negative misconceptions about their abilities, fear of pain, lack of internal motivation and disenterest in the expected activities. To motivate them to start a remote physical exercises program, it is first needed to change their perception of physical exercises in general.

BUSY ACTIVE

Elderly individuals who lead an active lifestyle, engage in some level of physical activity, yet sporadic and unstructured. They potentially find the idea of adhering to a remote physical exercise program appealing due to the flexibility and convenience it offers. However, they are skeptical about their adherence due to barriers such as lack of social engagement, disinterest in proposed activities, absence of personalized guidance, and perceived lower engagement with the activity itself.

The problem exploration lead to the identification of two main user groups targeted from Neuroinova's program based on their daily activity levels: the sedentary and the busy active people.

The two group's main barriers, motivators and general attitude can be summarized in the following problem statements.

SEDENTARY

BUSY ACTIVE

The design goal focuses on the individual exercise session within the broader long-term program. Since these sessions are part of an ongoing program, aspects such as tailoring physical and cognitive exercises to individual needs, structuring long-term guidance, and ensuring sustained motivation are essential to consider. The final design should therefore be contextualized within a patient journey developed over time, with guidelines established to address these aspects.

The design goal is to motivate older adults who follow the COGWEB® training to adhere to a prescribed physical exercise session, providing clear and structured guidance along with engaging and enjoyable activities.

New patient journey

After consulting a neuropsychologist for cognitive symptoms, the patient receives a personalized prescription for cognitive training with COGWEB®. They then participate in daily sessions over an extended period, with regular evaluations and adjustments to their training based on progress. With the integration of physical exercise into COGWEB®, these same principles of personalization, ongoing adjustments, and a focus on long-term guidance will apply, supporting a holistic approach to cognitive and physical well-being.

Dual-task training session

The final concept, Consigo, is a dual-task component that combines cognitive and physical exercises, integrated in the COGWEB® session. It features a series of cognitive tasks in the form of exergaming, which require physical responses from the user.

Play the video to see how it works.

This project resulted in a scientific publication presented at ICT4AWE 2025 – International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health.

꩜

Click to read the paper.

Dual-task training session

Play the video to see how it works.

This project resulted in a scientific publication presented at ICT4AWE 2025 – International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health.

꩜

Click to read the paper.

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