Over-the-Counter Medication Kiosk

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Problem space

There is certain class of medication, called anticholinergics, that can be harmful for aging brains. These include many popular over-the-counter meds like allergy and sleep aids. Taking this medication habitually has the potential to be damaging to aging brains, especially those for those predisposed to dementia.

Design Process + Solution

With a team including pharmacists, human factors engineers, and medical doctors, we undertook an iterative participatory design process to determine how best to inform older adults about these risks. We used a novel approach of parallel co-design teams (one with older adults and one with pharmacy staff). In the end, we developed an in-aisle decision-aid kiosk that informs about risks and suggests alternatives.

Early design prototype from co-design participant.

Publications

Hill, Jordan R., Patel, H., Gardner, B., Ganci, A., Campbell, N., Chui, M., Abebe, A., & Holden, R. (2025) “A digital health kiosk is acceptable, usable, and improves decisions about high-risk over-the-counter medications when used by older adults: Results of formative user testing.” Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japh.2025.102451.
Hill, J. R., Ganci, A. M., Patel, H., Campbell, N., Chui, M., Abebe, E., Holden, R. J. (2023). “OTC Senior Station: Consumer- Facing Technology to Promote Medication Safety.” Tampa, FL: Innovation in Aging, 7 (Suppl 1), 679. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igad104.2208.

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