Designing effective risk communications for older adults

Older adults make daily decisions concerning risk communications about product use, activities, or emergency situations. Appropriate compliance with warnings and notifications depends on comprehension of the hazard. Unfortunately, risk communications are often designed without considering the physical and cognitive changes that can accompany aging. This article details age-related changes and their relation to risk communication and includes examples and recommendations for design. It is proposed that designers consider these age-related changes within the larger system of the risk environment and risk communication demands. Iterative design is stressed.

► This article provides general information concerning design of risk communications for older adults.
► We detail the systems approach as a framework for considering potential moderators of comprehension and compliance.
► We recommend methods for determining likely comprehension and compliance by an older receiver.
► The environment as well as the receiver characteristics must be considered during design and testing of designs.