Designing for Reflection in Telehealth: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients as Self-trackers
Authors
Pedersen, Peder Walz ; Nadarajah, Stephanie Githa
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2016
Submitted on
2016-05-25
Pages
62
Abstract
Telemedicin anvendes i stigende grad til tidlig opsporing og behandling af kroniske sygdomme, men der er begrænset viden om, hvordan sådanne løsninger imødekommer patienters behov for at selvregistrere, forstå og handle på deres data. Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan telemedicin kan designes til at støtte KOL-patienter som selv-trackere med særligt fokus på refleksion. Med udgangspunkt i litteratur om Personal Informatics blev der gennemført semistrukturerede interviews med seks KOL-patienter, som brugte en telemedicinsk løsning (Studie 1). Analysen viste, at patienter generelt følte sig trygge, men havde svært ved at vurdere subjektive mål i forhold til en baseline, og at manglende adgang til historiske data begrænsede refleksion og opfølgende handling. På baggrund af disse fund blev der udviklet et prototypeforslag og afholdt individuelle design-feedbacksessioner med fem patienter (Studie 2), som indikerede, at ikke alle ønskede at engagere sig i refleksion. Prototypen blev derefter redesignet og afprøvet i et to ugers feltstudie med nye KOL-patienter (Studie 3). Resultaterne peger på, at den redesignede løsning hjalp en delmængde af patienterne til at blive mere informerede og opmærksomme på deres helbredstilstand, hvilket øgede deres oplevede handlekraft i hverdagen og motiverede dem til at sætte mål og arbejde med deres tilstand, mens andre fortsat ikke ønskede at reflektere over deres data.
Telehealth is increasingly used for early detection and management of chronic illness, yet little is known about how such systems meet patients’ needs to self-track, make sense of, and act on their data. This thesis investigates how telehealth can be designed to support COPD patients as self-trackers, with a particular emphasis on reflection. Drawing on Personal Informatics literature, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with six COPD patients using a state-of-the-art telehealth service (Study 1). Patients generally felt cared for, but struggled to assess subjective measures against a baseline, and the lack of access to historical data limited reflection and follow-up action. Building on these insights, the team developed an initial prototype and ran individual design feedback sessions with five patients (Study 2), which showed that not all patients wished to engage in reflection. The prototype was then redesigned and evaluated in a two-week field trial with new COPD patients (Study 3). Findings suggest the redesigned solution helped a subset of patients become more informed and aware of their health status, increasing their sense of empowerment in everyday life and motivating them to set goals and work on their condition, while others remained uninterested in reflecting on their data.
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