UI Professors Studying Video-Chatting Platform That's Easy for Older Adults

University of Illinois Professors Wendy Rogers and Raksha Mudar are investigating whether social interaction using the OneClick video-chatting platform can help counter older adults' feelings of isolation during the pandemic, reports the News-Gazette . The first step was a small pilot study to determine if older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment could use OneClick on their own at home. According to Rogers, participants "had creative ideas, talking about books, movies, continuing education, doing physical activity as a group." Rogers and Mudar will next work with 120 older adults, including 60 adults with mild cognitive impairment, who will spend six months being tracked and evaluated about their opportunities for socializing using OneClick. The researchers also will collaborate with Urbana's Clark-Lindsey Village, Danville's CRIS Healthy-Aging Center, and Chicago's CJE SeniorLife on how they can use OneClick for support services for their clients. The research is being underwritten with a U.S. National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research grant.