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Usability Evaluation of Augmented Reality: A Neuro-Information-Systems Study
Published on: November 30, 2022
Co-design of an Augmented Reality Asthma Inhaler Educational Intervention for Children: Development and Usability
Antonia O'Connor1,2, Andrew Tai1,2,3, Malcolm Brinn4,5
1Respiratory and Sleep Department, Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.
Insights
This study developed an augmented reality (AR) app for children with asthma to improve inhaler technique. Co-designed with users, the app demonstrated excellent usability and will be refined for clinical evaluation.
Area of Science:
- Digital Health
- Pediatric Asthma Management
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Asthma is the most common chronic pediatric disease, with significant challenges in symptom control and inhaler adherence.
- Existing educational apps for pediatric asthma are scarce, despite high technology engagement among children.
- Augmented reality (AR) offers a novel approach to enhance health education delivery via mobile devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To co-design and develop a smartphone/tablet app using AR for pediatric asthma inhaler technique education.
- To evaluate the usability of the AR asthma inhaler education app using the System Usability Scale.
- To provide recommendations for future digital health interventions in pediatric asthma care.
Main Methods:
- An iterative co-design process involving children with asthma, caregivers, and healthcare professionals.
- Qualitative interviews and usability testing were conducted throughout the development cycle.
- The app was refined based on user feedback, incorporating animation and enhancing AR features.
Main Results:
- The co-design process successfully integrated end-user preferences into the AR asthma inhaler app.
- User feedback led to iterative improvements, including added animation and removal of paper-based triggers for AR.
- The app achieved excellent perceived usability, with a high mean System Usability Scale score of 90.14 in the final evaluation.
Conclusions:
- The co-design and usability evaluation provide a foundation for a robust AR asthma inhaler education intervention.
- The developed app demonstrates high potential for improving pediatric asthma management through engaging technology.
- Further clinical evaluation is planned to assess the intervention's effectiveness in real-world settings.
Background:
Smartphone and tablet apps that deliver health care education have been identified as effective in improving patient knowledge and treatment adherence in asthma populations. Despite asthma being the most common chronic disease in pediatrics, there are few apps that are targeted specifically for children. Only half of children with asthma have acceptable control of their symptoms, and 40%-98% do not use their inhalers correctly. With children being increasingly connected to technology, there is an opportunity to improve asthma inhaler technique education by delivery via smartphone or tablet apps. Augmented reality (AR) technology was used in this study to capitalize on growing technological innovations. Digital health interventions that use a co-design process for development have the highest likelihood of successful uptake and effectiveness on their intended outcomes. Perceived usability also has been shown to improve the effectiveness of education as well as the acceptance of the intervention.
Objective:
The aims of this study were to describe the co-design process, development, and design outcomes of a smartphone or tablet app that incorporates AR technology to deliver asthma inhaler technique education to children with asthma. This study also aimed to provide a usability evaluation, using the System Usability Scale to inform our work and future research, and recommendations for others performing similar work.
Methods:
The development of the AR asthma inhaler technique education app was based on an iterative co-design process with likely end users (children with asthma, their caregivers, and health care professionals). This involved multiple stages: recruitment of end users for qualitative interviews and usability testing with a previously designed educational intervention, which used an AR-embedded smartphone or tablet app; ideation of content for a specific asthma inhaler technique education intervention with end users; development of the specific asthma inhaler intervention; and 2 further rounds of interviews and usability testing with the redesign of the initial prototype.
Results:
We included 16 participants aged 9-45 years. Using the co-design process, the AR asthma inhaler technique education app was designed, incorporating the preferences of end users. After iteration 1, animation was included based on the feedback provided. Iteration 2 feedback resulted in increased AR experiences and the removal of the requirement of a paper-based resource to trigger AR in the third iteration. Throughout all rounds, the ease of use of the app and the novel nature of the intervention were frequently described. The usability of the intervention overall was perceived to be excellent, and the mean System Usability Scale score of the intervention was found to be highest in the final round of evaluation (90.14).
Conclusions:
The results from this co-design process and usability evaluation will be used to develop a final AR asthma inhaler technique educational intervention, which will be evaluated in the clinical setting.
International Registered Report Identifier (Irrid):
RR2-10.1177/16094069211042229.
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