Melek Akan
User Experience Research & Product Design
Loneliness Among the Elderly
The Challenge: Understanding Loneliness Among Immigrant Elderly Living in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, many elderly immigrants struggle with loneliness, feeling disconnected from their communities due to language barriers, cultural differences, and a lack of spontaneous social interactions. They often refrain from reaching out, fearing they might be a burden to others. Our challenge was to understand the underlying emotional and behavioral patterns that contribute to this isolation and design solutions to help them feel more integrated and accepted.
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Delft University of Technology
Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering
MSc. Integrated Product Design
Contextual Mapping Methodologies
2020 Fall Semester
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This research project was developed in collaboration with Delft Municipality and Muzus Design Agency.
Research Question
"Find the underlying needs of immigrant elderly that is living in the Netherlands in order to formulate opportunities for the clients to connect with them and help them to cope with loneliness."
AI-Generated Audio Overview
This audio summary was created using NotebookLM, leveraging AI to generate a concise and engaging overview of my UX research project. It highlights the problem, research approach, key insights, and impact in a structured and compelling way.
Research Approach: Deep Emotional Insights
To deeply understand the experiences of immigrant elderly, we used a mixed-methods research approach, combining:​
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Ethnographic research: Observing behaviors in community centers and local gatherings.
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In-depth interviews: Speaking with elderly individuals to understand their daily struggles and perspectives.
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Co-creation workshops: Engaging elderly participants in designing potential interventions.
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Surveys and usability testing: Evaluating communication materials and community programs.
Research Phases
To gain a deep understanding of the social isolation experienced by immigrant elderly, our team employed a multi-phased research approach that combined observational studies, in-depth interviews, co-creation workshops, and surveys. This allowed us to uncover their underlying needs and co-develop solutions with them rather than for them.
Making Sense of Ambiguous Data
Understanding the lived experiences of immigrant elderly required navigating complex, layered, and often ambiguous data. Unlike traditional research projects with clear-cut variables, this study dealt with deeply personal narratives, cultural nuances, and unspoken social norms. Our challenge was to make sense of dispersed qualitative insights, conflicting emotions, and hidden behavioral patterns to extract actionable design opportunities.
Clustering Insights: From Chaos to Clarity
To organize the vast amount of interview data, we employed affinity mapping and thematic clustering techniques. This allowed us to:
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Identify recurring themes such as belonging, trust, and social barriers.
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Visually map connections between emotions, cultural contexts, and social behaviors.
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Distill complexity into tangible categories that guided our design interventions.
Understanding Social Behaviors Through Activity Mapping
From this affinity map, we extracted multiple themes reflecting how immigrant elderly engage in daily activities and social interactions. One crucial section highlights their social behaviors, religious engagement, cooking habits, and physical activities, revealing key patterns:
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Socialization relies on familiar environments like mosques, community centers, and coffee gatherings, often spread through word-of-mouth rather than formal invitations.
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Religion is more than faith—it’s a social anchor, providing a structured space for belonging and trust.
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Cooking and sharing meals are deeply cultural, but some elderly struggle with isolation, suggesting the need for group meal initiatives.
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Physical activities are often solitary, requiring social motivation to encourage participation.​
Interpreting Contradictions: Bridging the Gaps
A key challenge in our research was interpreting contradictory insights:
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Some elderly participants expressed a desire for independence, while others emphasized the need for close-knit social circles.
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Many claimed they preferred spontaneous interactions, yet their actual behavior showed a reliance on structured events for engagement.​
To reconcile these findings, we conducted iterative discussions, cross-referencing qualitative quotes with behavioral observations. This method helped us develop nuanced personas representing different levels of social integration.
Key Insights: Barriers to Social Connection
Through our research, we identified the core barriers preventing immigrant elderly from forming social bonds:
Fear of being a burden
Many hesitated to initiate social interactions unless explicitly invited.
Cultural mismatch in social norms
Spontaneity in socializing, common in their home cultures, contrasted with the structured, planned nature of Dutch social life.
​Word-of-mouth dependence
Most relied on friends or neighbors to hear about social activities rather than digital or formal communication channels.
Language barriers
Even those who understood Dutch struggled with written communication, limiting their ability to engage with municipal programs.
Impact: Designing Solutions with Lasting Change
USER RESEARCH INSIGHTS
By translating these insights into actionable solutions, we helped create community-driven interventions that empowered immigrant elderly:
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Invitation Networks: A peer-invitation system encouraging elderly individuals to bring a friend to social events, reducing the fear of being an outsider.
Cultural Spontaneity Spaces: Partnering with community centers to introduce informal, unstructured gatherings that mirrored the spontaneous interactions elderly immigrants were familiar with.
Multilingual Social Media Outreach: Ensuring event invitations were shared via WhatsApp and local cultural organizations in multiple languages.
Building Connections Through Research
Throughout this research, we uncovered key themes shaping immigrant elderly’s daily lives: socialization through familiar spaces, religion as a social anchor, the cultural significance of cooking, and the need for social motivation in physical activities. These insights helped shape meaningful interventions rooted in their real experiences.​Beyond research, this project was about human connection. Sitting with elderly participants, sharing stories over tea, and understanding their world made me realize that what they seek most is not just activities, but a true sense of belonging.
This experience proved to me that user experience is not only about "user insights".
It’s about empathy, trust, and creating space for people to be seen and heard.
Final Product: A Serious Card Game for Meaningful Social Connection
As the outcome of this research, we designed a serious card game aimed at fostering meaningful conversations and social connections among immigrant elderly. The game encourages players to share personal stories, reflect on their experiences, and engage in discussions that strengthen trust and belonging. By integrating familiar cultural themes, humor, and open-ended prompts, the game provides a low-pressure, interactive way to connect, making socialization more accessible and enjoyable.
Overcoming Challenges Together
Throughout the project, we encountered obstacles that required teamwork and adaptability:
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Navigating Language Barriers: Many participants were more comfortable speaking their native languages. To overcome this, we collaborated with community leaders as translators and incorporated visual storytelling methods like card sorting.​
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Encouraging Participation: Some elderly individuals hesitated to engage due to cultural norms and personal insecurities. We adapted our interview style by starting with informal conversations, fostering a safe and welcoming environment.
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Below are some pictures of our team working on synthesizing insights. This project began during the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that many research activities had to be conducted in isolation, requiring us to adapt our methods. Despite the challenges, we collaborated remotely, shared findings virtually, and found creative ways to stay connected, making sure the research remained rigorous, insightful, and impactful.
Let’s
Connect!
Thank you for reading so far!
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If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to chat, or if you’d simply like to learn more about my professional projects, feel free to reach out.
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