Using the NIATx Model to Develop Information and Communication Technologies

The customer experience is the foundation of the NIATx model, which was originally created to help addiction treatment agencies improve access to and retention in treatment. Over the years, the NIATx model has been applied in a variety of other settings (mental health, criminal justice, child welfare, to name a few) to improve other systems.

See related stories: Bringing NIATx to Corrections, Wisconsin Mental Health Collaborative Renewed for 2016

The customer experience is also the focus of User Centered Design (UCD), an approach to developing technology. Wikepedia defines UCD as “a framework of processes (not restricted to interfaces or technologies) in which the needs, wants, and limitations of end users of a product, service or process are given extensive attention at each stage of the design process.”

In other words, UCD is all about understanding and involving the customer, as in NIATx Principle #1.

So it made sense for the tech team at the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies (which houses NIATx) to use the NIATx model to guide their UCD design of a new health information technology tool for older adults.

“The NIATx model, with its focus on the end user, allowed us to keep the interests of older adults first and foremost and create a site that anecdotal evidence suggests does help create community and reduce isolation,” writes lead author Dave Gustafson, Jr.

Read the complete article recently published in JMIR Human Factors:

Using the NIATx Model to Implement User-Centered Design of Technology for Older Adults

Citation: Gustafson Jr. D.H., Maus, A., Judkins, J., Dinauer, S., Isham, A., Johnson, R., Landucci, G., and Atwood, A.K. (2016). Using the NIATx Model to Implement User-Centered Design of Technology for Older Adults. JMIR Human Factors 2016;3(1):e2