Background: In the past years, a mobile health (mHealth) app called the Dutch Talking Touch Screen Questionnaire (DTTSQ) was developed in The Netherlands. The aim of development was to enable Dutch physical therapy patients to autonomously complete a health-related questionnaire regardless of their level of literacy and digital skills. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the usability (defined as the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction) of the prototype of the DTTSQ for Dutch physical therapy patients with diverse levels of experience in using mobile technology. Methods: The qualitative Three-Step Test-Interview method, including both think-aloud and retrospective probing techniques, was used to gain insight into the usability of the DTTSQ. A total of 24 physical therapy patients were included. The interview data were analyzed using a thematic content analysis approach aimed at analyzing the accuracy and completeness with which participants completed the questionnaire (effectiveness), the time it took the participants to complete the questionnaire (efficiency), and the extent to which the participants were satisfied with the ease of use of the questionnaire (satisfaction). The problems encountered by the participants in this study were given a severity rating that was used to provide a rough estimate of the need for additional usability efforts. Results: All participants within this study were very satisfied with the ease of use of the DTTSQ. Overall, 9 participants stated that the usability of the app exceeded their expectations. The group of 4 average-/high-experienced participants encountered only 1 problem in total, whereas the 11 little-experienced participants encountered an average of 2 problems per person and the 9 inexperienced participants an average of 3 problems per person. A total of 13 different kind of problems were found during this study. Of these problems, 4 need to be addressed before the DTTSQ will be released because they have the potential to negatively influence future usage of the tool. The other 9 problems were less likely to influence future usage of the tool substantially. Conclusions: The usability of the DTTSQ needs to be improved before it can be released. No problems were found with satisfaction or efficiency during the usability test. The effectiveness needs to be improved by (1) making it easier to navigate through screens without the possibility of accidentally skipping one, (2) enabling the possibility to insert an answer by tapping on the text underneath a photograph instead of just touching the photograph itself, and (3) making it easier to correct wrong answers. This study shows the importance of including less skilled participants in a usability study when striving for inclusive design and the importance of measuring not just satisfaction but also efficiency and effectiveness during such studies.
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Abstract: Embodied embedded cognition (EEC) has gained support in cognitive science as well as in human–computer interaction (HCI). EEC can be characterized both by its action-centeredness as well as its roots in phenomenology. The phenomenological aspects of EEC could be seen as support for trends in design emphasizing the user experience. Meanwhile, usability issues often are still approached using traditional methods based on cognitivist assumptions. In this paper, I argue for a renewed focus on improving usability from an EEC perspective. I draw mainly on a behavior-oriented interpretation of the theory, the key aspects of which are reviewed. A tentative sketch for an embodied embedded usability is proposed, doing justice to the embodied embedded nature of interaction while retaining the goal of developing technology that is easy to use in everyday practice.
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Background: Functional decline is common in nursing home residents. Nursing staff can help prevent this decline, by encouraging residents to be more active in functional activities. Questionnaires measuring the extent to which nursing staff encourage functional activity among residents are lacking. In addition, there are no measurement instruments to gain insight into nursing staff perceived barriers and facilitators to this behavior. The aim of this study was to develop, and study the usability, of the MAastrIcht Nurses Activities INventory (MAINtAIN), an inventory assessing a) the extent to which nursing staff perceive to perform behaviors that optimize and maintain functional activity among nursing home residents and b) the perceived barriers and facilitators related to this behavior. Methods: Using a mixed-methods approach the MAINtAIN was developed and its usability was studied. Development was based on literature, expert opinions, focus group (N = 3) and individual interviews (N = 14) with residents and staff from nine nursing homes in the Netherlands. Usability was studied in a cross-sectional study with 37 nurses and certified nurse assistants; data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Development of the MAINtAIN resulted in two distinctive parts: MAINtAIN-behaviors and MAINtAIN-barriers. MAINtAIN-behaviors, targeting nursing staff behavior to optimize and maintain functional activity, includes 19 items covering activities of daily living, household activities, and miscellaneous activities. MAINtAIN-barriers addresses the perceived barriers and facilitators related to this behavior and comprises 33 items covering barriers and facilitators related to the residents, the professionals, the social context, and the organizational and economic context. The usability study showed that the inventory was not difficult to complete, that items and response options were clear,and that the number of missing values was low. Few items showed a floor or ceiling effect. Conclusions: The newly developed inventory MAINtAIN provides a usable method for researchers and nursing homes to obtain insight into nursing staff perceived behavior in optimizing functional activity among residents and their perceived barriers and facilitators related to this behavior. Outcomes of the MAINtAIN may contribute to change in nursing staff behavior and may improve nursing care. Further research with regard to the psychometric properties of the MAINtAIN is recommended.
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Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) involves uncontrollable drinking despite negative consequences, a challenge amplified in festivals. ARise is a project using Augmented Reality (AR) to prevent AUD by helping festival visitors refuse alcohol and other substances. Based on the first Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy (ARET) for clinical AUD treatment, ARise uses a smartphone app with AR glasses to project virtual humans that tempt visitors to drink alcohol. Users interact in a safe and personalized way with these virtual humans through phone, voice, and gesture interactions. The project gathers festival feedback on user experience, awareness, usability, and potential expansion to other substances.Societal issueHelping treatment of addiction and stimulate social inclusion.Benefit to societyMore people less patients: decrease health cost and increase in inclusion and social happiness.Collaborative partnersNovadic-Kentron, Thalamusa
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a pattern of alcohol use that involves having trouble controlling drinking behaviour, even when it causes health issues (addiction) or problems functioning in daily (social and professional) life. Moreover, festivals are a common place where large crowds of festival-goers experience challenges refusing or controlling alcohol and substance use. Studies have shown that interventions at festivals are still very problematic. ARise is the first project that wants to help prevent AUD at festivals using Augmented Reality (AR) as a tool to help people, particular festival visitors, to say no to alcohol (and other substances). ARise is based on the on the first Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy (ARET) in the world that we developed for clinical treatment of AUD. It is an AR smartphone driven application in which (potential) visitors are confronted with virtual humans that will try to seduce the user to accept an alcoholic beverage. These virtual humans are projected in the real physical context (of a festival), using innovative AR glasses. Using intuitive phone, voice and gesture interactions, it allows users to personalize the safe experience by choosing different drinks and virtual humans with different looks and levels of realism. ARET has been successfully developed and tested on (former) AUD patients within a clinical setting. Research with patients and healthcare specialists revealed the wish to further develop ARET as a prevention tool to reach people before being diagnosed with AUD and to extend the application for other substances (smoking and pills). In this project, festival visitors will experience ARise and provide feedback on the following topics: (a) experience, (b) awareness and confidence to refuse alcohol drinks, (c) intention to use ARise, (d) usability & efficiency (the level of realism needed), and (e) ideas on how to extend ARise with new substances.
Augmented Reality (AR) technologie is een vorm van mens-computer interactie waar de natuurlijke visuele waarneming van de mens wordt aangevuld met computer-gegenereerde informatie, zoals virtuele 3D modellen, aanwijzingen en teksten). Dit KIEM onderzoek exploreert de mogelijkheid van AR bij het assembleren van fysieke producten. Deze exploratie betreft: • de complexiteit van het voortraject: het analyseren van assemblageprocessen, het vaststellen van assemblagetaken die ondersteuning behoeven en het specificeren van de aard van de gewenste ondersteuning; • vaststellen van variabelen die bepalend zijn voor de business case van het gebruik van AR; • een verkenning van de technische complexiteit van het ontwikkelen van een AR applicatie, met gebruikmaking van de Microsoft Hololens; • een initiële effectmeting waarin, in het Usability Laboratorium van de HAN, gekeken wordt hoe een operator omgaat met de additionele informatie vanuit AR. Het onderzoek bestaat uit een praktijkstudie waar reeds technologie aanwezig is voor AR (bij Lankhorst BV) en een studie binnen de HAN, gebaseerd op een complexe assemblageproblematiek bij ARA B.V. Resultaten worden gepresenteerd voor een bredere groep MKB assemblagebedrijven. Kennis opgedaan uit bovengenoemde punten, en de gaps in de verkregen kennis, vormen vervolgens de basis van een omvangrijker project. Hierbij wordt gedacht aan een RAAK MKB project.
