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Using a Participatory Action Research Design to Develop an Application Together with Young Adults with Spina Bifida
Helene Lidström1, Magnus Lindskog-Wallander2, Eva Arnemo2
1Department of Social and Welfare Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden.
Introduction:
Young adults with spina bifida often have cognitive difficulties. As a result, young adults with disabilities are facing challenges with respect to housing, education, relationships and vocation which increases risk of unemployment.
Aim:
The aim is to describe a method to develop a smartphone application together with young adults with spina bifida as an assistive technology for cognition.
Method:
In a Participatory Action Research approach, young adults (n = 5) with spina bifida were individually interviewed with Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). The participants' restrictions in everyday life activities, identified by COPM, were discussed in a focus group formed by the young adults and the result was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Developing the application the principles of Human-Centered-Design and Universal Design was followed.
Result:
An application made for iOS with a focus on usability and worthiness, done by creating a clear and intuitive interface, with a calendar function useful for example to initiate and plan social activities was developed.
Conclusion:
The method seems useful when the outcome from the project, a beta version of an application for iOS Smartphone, was achieved in agreement with the participants. The study highlight the importance of involving individuals with disabilities when developing smartphone applications.
