. 2011 Oct 22;2011:1166–1175.

Table 2.

Hazel: An eighty-nine-year-old persona to inform design for the oldest old.

Hazel
Hazel has a master’s degree in journalism and managed a local office for a national publishing house for twenty years until she retired. She is eighty-nine years old and has enjoyed a lengthy, healthy retirement. Hazel has been married to her husband, Robert, for fifty years. They raised three children in the same house where they lived for their entire marriage. With the occasional help of a housekeeper, they were able to take care of themselves and were autonomous until recently when she and Robert moved into a retirement community. Hazel would have loved to live in their house longer, but as they got older, their children became more concerned about their health. Although Hazel feels her health is still good, she recognizes she is not as vital and energetic as she was a decade ago. She now needs to see her doctor routinely every few months to take care of diabetes and high blood pressure. Hazel sometimes feels light headed and tired from her blood pressure medication. Hazel is thankful that Robert still enjoys good health. She and Robert monitor their blood pressure and weight together on a regular basis. Hazel’s diabetes is currently well controlled with diet and exercise, so as part of her daily routine she and Robert take a daily 2 mile “constitutional”. Luckily, the retirement community is not too far from their family and friends with whom they visit during these walks. Hazel enjoys the facility’s amenities and likes to use a computer to research family history and search for health information. Unfortunately, using a computer is not as easy as it used to be. She often finds it demanding to focus her attention when a lot of information appears on the screen quickly. Although she used to use a computer as part of her job as a professional manager, Hazel now feels that common tasks in familiar software programs are more difficult to use.

Hazel

Hazel has a master’s degree in journalism and managed a local office for a national publishing house for twenty years until she retired. She is eighty-nine years old and has enjoyed a lengthy, healthy retirement. Hazel has been married to her husband, Robert, for fifty years. They raised three children in the same house where they lived for their entire marriage. With the occasional help of a housekeeper, they were able to take care of themselves and were autonomous until recently when she and Robert moved into a retirement community.
Hazel would have loved to live in their house longer, but as they got older, their children became more concerned about their health. Although Hazel feels her health is still good, she recognizes she is not as vital and energetic as she was a decade ago. She now needs to see her doctor routinely every few months to take care of diabetes and high blood pressure. Hazel sometimes feels light headed and tired from her blood pressure medication. Hazel is thankful that Robert still enjoys good health. She and Robert monitor their blood pressure and weight together on a regular basis. Hazel’s diabetes is currently well controlled with diet and exercise, so as part of her daily routine she and Robert take a daily 2 mile “constitutional”. Luckily, the retirement community is not too far from their family and friends with whom they visit during these walks.
Hazel enjoys the facility’s amenities and likes to use a computer to research family history and search for health information. Unfortunately, using a computer is not as easy as it used to be. She often finds it demanding to focus her attention when a lot of information appears on the screen quickly. Although she used to use a computer as part of her job as a professional manager, Hazel now feels that common tasks in familiar software programs are more difficult to use.