Designing assistive technologies for medication regimes in care settings

Abstract

This paper presents some early design work of the Care in the Digital Community research project begun under the EPSRC IRC Network project Equator. Gaining a comprehensive understanding of user requirements in care settings poses interesting methodological challenges. This paper details some methodological options for working in the domestic domain and documents the translation of research into design recommendations. We report on the importance of medication issues in a hostel for former psychiatric patients and present an early prototype of a medication manager designed to be sensitive to the particular requirements of the setting.

Mobile assistive technologies for the visually impaired

“…Designers adopting this philosophy recognize that they are not simply designing for themselves or for people with similar abilities and needs, but are instead designing for individuals who may differ in needs, capabilities, and attitudes 25 . UCD encourages the use of user-focused design tools and practices including interviews, focus groups, surveys, usability testing, and participatory design processes e.g., 27 .…”

“…It reduces the embarrassment of having to ask others for assistance or attempt to understand the interface when there are other people around who may need to use the same appliance. Connelly et al 25 argue that impaired users are more likely to use mobile technologies since these are deemed as non-stigmatizing and are associated with affluence and success. Having the capacity to support control of different interfaces and manifesting this control via a mobile phone as an intermediary device, the personal mobile controller exploits these positive attitudes and provides a single point of interaction with multiple complex technologies within an environment.…”

Towards designing more effective systems by understanding user experiences

“…Domestic and care environments are very different settings to the workplace (Cheverst, 2003). Care must be taken when conducting research in these new areas to avoid blindly following the assumptions and methodologies associated with workplace-based research: for example, examining personal routines and environments can be seen as inappropriate and intrusive.…”

“…Understanding user requirements in care settings (such as care homes and hospices) can pose methodological challenges (Cheverst, 2003). It is necessary that designers know not only what they are designing and what it should do, but also who will use it.…”

“…Cheverst et al (Cheverst, 2003) carried out research in a hostel for former psychiatric patients. They used several techniques, including ethnographic study, user-centred design and evaluation, and cultural probes (Gaver, 1999).…”