CARE+ user study: usability and attitudes towards a tablet pc computer counseling tool for HIV+ men and women

CARE+ is a tablet PC-based computer counseling tool designed to support medication adherence and secondary HIV prevention for people living with HIV. Thirty HIV+ men and women participated in our user study to assess usability and attitudes towards CARE+. We observed them using CARE+ for the first time and conducted a semi-structured interview afterwards. Our findings suggest computer counseling may reduce social bias and encourage participants to answer questions honestly. Participants felt that discussing sensitive subjects with a computer instead of a person reduced feelings of embarrassment and being judged, and promoted privacy. Results also confirm that potential users think computers can provide helpful counseling, and that many also want human counseling interaction. Our study also revealed that tablet PC-based applications are usable by our population of mixed experience computer users. Computer counseling holds great potential for providing assessment and health promotion to individuals with chronic conditions such as HIV.