Did you know that unless the older people in your life stimulate their brains daily, they could be at risk of a decline in mental functioning? 

As well as this, depressive symptoms are more likely to manifest in older people with cognitive impairment. With one million people over sixty-five projected for 2028 in Aotearoa, this is a striking concern. I wanted to support this aging population by leveraging emerging chatbot development, mental strengthening games, and accessible design in a goal-orientated web app format. 

A hypothesis states that if older adults had the tools to act in a way that supports their goals, their depressive symptoms might diminish. However, due to the infancy of mental health chatbots and the vulnerability of older adults, there are few cases in the domain. I expanded upon research conducted in other countries to bring a well-researched, prototyped concept forward for my capstone.

There are three core pages: the chat page, the games page, and the profile page. The chat page hosts the user's mental mate, designed to bridge the gap between the user and simple social interaction. I created the games page to host a range of experiences, from leisure to brain-training games. Finally, the user can find all their personal and app information on the profile page.