Dataset Information

Child-Centered Design: Developing an Inclusive Letter Writing App.

ABSTRACT: Everywhere there are children, there are screens, and child-computer interaction is ubiquitous. Despite their omnipresence, research on the impact of screens on children's learning lags behind the development of digital tools. Apple's App Store has an abundance of "educational" apps, but many of these apps' claims are unsubstantiated. Organizations responsible for vetting quality products for young people, such as the American Library Association, are developing resources to help identify the best digital products available, but they remain difficult to find, and there is limited guidance for app designers when it comes to designing apps for younger audiences. Our interdisciplinary, empirical study was inspired by "co-creation" (Sanders and Stappers, 2008) and "cooperative inquiry" (Druin, 2005). Starting with a seed grant from Kent State University's College of Communication and Information, our team sought to create a high-quality and inclusive alphabet app with haptic interactions and simplified gamification to reinforce the basic letter writing skills of young children. The app rewards a child's successful handwriting with an animation of a verb that corresponds with the letter they traced. Concrete animations and digital and verbal demonstrations connect the typographic letter to the handwritten counterpart. Librarian Claudia Haines' rubric (Haines, 2016) and the Dig Checklist (Kidmap, 2018.) guided our definition of "quality," and children served as co-designers in two qualitative user studies. Our young designers tested prototypes, completed task booklets, and were interviewed about their preferences and their feedback informed our design. Additionally, a focus group interview with kindergarten and preschool teachers provided further feedback about the typographic design, stroke order, and gaming rewards. To be inclusive, children in both our app design and user studies were selected from a diverse pool. Our research contributes to work on co-design and cooperative inquiry in the fields of User Experience Design, human-computer interaction, human information behavior, information science, interface design, motion design, typeface design and typography for children, and early literacy development. A post-study is planned upon completion of the app.

SUBMITTER: Martens M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6291515 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Child-Centered Design: Developing an Inclusive Letter Writing App.

Martens Marianne M Rinnert Gretchen Caldwell GC Andersen Christine C

Frontiers in psychology 20181206

Everywhere there are children, there are screens, and child-computer interaction is ubiquitous. Despite their omnipresence, research on the impact of screens on children's learning lags behind the development of digital tools. Apple's App Store has an abundance of "educational" apps, but many of these apps' claims are unsubstantiated. Organizations responsible for vetting quality products for young people, such as the American Library Association, are developing resources to help identify the be ...[more]

PMID: 30574104

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Dental visits are unpleasant; sometimes, patients only seek treatment when they are in intolerable pain. Recently, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the need for remote communication when patients and dentists cannot meet in person. Gingivitis is very common and characterized by red, swollen, bleeding gums. Gingivitis heals within 10 days of professional care and with daily, thorough oral hygiene practices. If left untreated, however, its progress may lead to teeth becoming mobile or lost. Of the many medical apps currently available, none monitor gingivitis. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to present a characterization and development model of a mobile health (mHealth) app called iGAM, which focuses on periodontal health and improves the information flow between dentists and patients. METHODS:A focus group discussed the potential of an app to monitor gingivitis, and 3 semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted on the use of apps for monitoring gum infections. We used a qualitative design process based on the Agile approach, which incorporated the following 5 steps: (1) user story, (2) use cases, (3) functional requirements, (4) nonfunctional requirements, and (5) Agile software development cycles. In a pilot study with 18 participants aged 18-45 years and with different levels of health literacy, participants were given a toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, toothpicks, and dental floss. After installing iGAM, they were asked to photograph their gums weekly for 4 weeks. RESULTS:All participants in the focus group believed in the potential of a mobile app to monitor gingivitis and reduce its severity. Concerns about security and privacy issues were discussed. From the interviews, 2 themes were derived: (1) "what's in it for me?" and (2) the need for a take-home message. The 5 cycles of development highlighted the importance of communication between dentists, app developers, and the pilot group. Qualitative analysis of the data from the pilot study showed difficulty with: (1) the camera, which was alleviated with the provision of mouth openers, and (2) the operation of the phone, which was alleviated by changing the app to be fully automated, with a weekly reminder and an instructions document. Final interviews showed satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS:iGAM is the first mHealth app for monitoring gingivitis using self-photography. iGAM facilitates the information flow between dentists and patients between checkups and may be useful when face-to-face consultations are not possible (such as during the COVID-19 pandemic).

Project description:BackgroundText messaging interventions can be an effective and efficient way to improve health behavioral changes. However, most texting interventions are neither tested nor designed with diverse end users, which could reduce their impact, and there is limited evidence regarding the optimal design methodology of health text messages tailored to low-income, low-health literacy populations and non-English speakers.ObjectiveThis study aims to combine participant feedback, crowdsourced data, and researcher expertise to develop motivational text messages in English and Spanish that will be used in a smartphone app-based texting intervention that seeks to encourage physical activity in low-income minority patients with diabetes diagnoses and depression symptoms.MethodsThe design process consisted of 5 phases and was iterative in nature, given that the findings from each step informed the subsequent steps. First, we designed messages to increase physical activity based on the behavior change theory and knowledge from the available evidence. Second, using user-centered design methods, we refined these messages after a card sorting task and semistructured interviews (N=10) and evaluated their likeability during a usability testing phase of the app prototype (N=8). Third, the messages were tested by English- and Spanish-speaking participants on the Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) crowdsourcing platform (N=134). Participants on MTurk were asked to categorize the messages into overarching theoretical categories based on the capability, opportunity, motivation, and behavior framework. Finally, each coauthor rated the messages for their overall quality from 1 to 5. All messages were written at a sixth-grade or lower reading level and culturally adapted and translated into neutral Spanish by bilingual research staff.ResultsA total of 200 messages were iteratively refined according to the feedback from target users gathered through user-centered design methods, crowdsourced results of a categorization test, and an expert review. User feedback was leveraged to discard unappealing messages and edit the thematic aspects of messages that did not resonate well with the target users. Overall, 54 messages were sorted into the correct theoretical categories at least 50% of the time in the MTurk categorization tasks and were rated 3.5 or higher by the research team members. These were included in the final text message bank, resulting in 18 messages per motivational category.ConclusionsBy using an iterative process of expert opinion, feedback from participants that were reflective of our target study population, crowdsourcing, and feedback from the research team, we were able to acquire valuable inputs for the design of motivational text messages developed in English and Spanish with a low literacy level to increase physical activity. We describe the design considerations and lessons learned for the text messaging development process and provide a novel, integrative framework for future developers of health text messaging interventions.

Project description:BackgroundReal-world implementation of psychological interventions for psychosis is poor. Barriers include therapy being insufficiently usable and useful for a diverse range of people. User-centered, inclusive design approaches could improve the usability of therapy, which may increase uptake, adherence, and effectiveness.ObjectiveThis study aimed to optimize the usability of an existing psychological intervention, Thinking Well, which targets reasoning processes in paranoia using a basic digital interface.MethodsWe conducted inclusive, user-centered design research characterized by purposive sampling of extreme users from the margins of groups, ethnographic investigation of the problem context, and iterative prototyping of solutions. The UK Design Council's double diamond method was used. This consisted of 4 phases: discover, including a case series of Thinking Well, stakeholder interviews, desk research, user profiling, system mapping, and a mood board; define, consisting of workshops to synthesize findings and generate the design brief; develop, involving concept workshops and prototype testing; and deliver, in which the final minimal viable product was storyboarded and iteratively coded.ResultsConsistent with our previous work, the Thinking Well case series showed medium to large effects on paranoia and well-being and small effects on reasoning. These were maintained at follow-up despite some participants reporting difficulties with the therapy interface. Insights from the discover phase confirmed that usability was challenged by information complexity and poor accessibility. Participants were generally positive about the potential of technology to be enjoyable, help manage paranoia, and provide tailored interpersonal support from therapists and peers, although they reported privacy and security concerns. The define phase highlighted that the therapy redesign should support monitoring, simplify information processing, enhance enjoyment and trust, promote personalization and normalization, and offer flexible interpersonal support. During the develop phase over 60 concepts were created, with 2 key concepts of thoughts visualized as bubbles and therapy as a journey selected for storyboarding. The output of the deliver phase was a minimal viable product of an innovative digital therapy, SlowMo. SlowMo works by helping people to notice their worries and fast thinking habits, and encourages them to slow down for a moment to find ways of feeling safer. A Web app supports the delivery of 8 face-to-face sessions, which are synchronized to a native mobile app.ConclusionsSlowMo makes use of personalization, ambient information, and visual metaphors to tailor the appeal, engagement, and memorability of therapy to a diversity of needs. Feasibility testing has been promising, and the efficacy of SlowMo therapy is now being tested in a multicentered randomized controlled trial. The study demonstrates that developments in psychological theory and techniques can be enhanced by improving the usability of the therapy interface to optimize its impact in daily life.

Project description:BackgroundAdolescent pregnancies and sexually-transmitted infections continue to impact 15 - 19-year-olds across the globe. The lack of sexual reproductive health information (SRH) in resource-limited settings due to cultural and societal attitudes towards adolescent SRH could be contributing to the negative outcomes. Innovative approaches, including mobile phone technologies, are needed to address the need for reliable adolescent SRH information.ObjectiveThe study aimed to co-design a Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) based mobile app prototype to provide confidential adolescent SRH information on-demand and evaluate the mobile app's usability and user experience.MethodsA human-centered design methodology was applied. This practice framework allowed the perspectives and feedback of adolescent users to be included in the iterative design process. To participate, an adolescent must have been 15 to 19 years old, resided in Kibra and would be able to access a mobile phone. Adolescents were enrolled for the alpha and field testing of the app prototype at different time-points. The Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) a multidimensional mobile phone evaluation tool was used to access the functionality, engagement, aesthetics and quality of information in the app. Responses from the MARS were reported as mean scores for each category and a mean of the aggregate scores making the app's quality score. The MARS data was also evaluated as categorical data, A Chi square test of independence was carried out to show significance of any observed differences using cumulative and inverse cumulative distribution functions.ResultsDuring the usability test, 62/109 (54.9%) of the adolescents that were followed-up had used the app at least once, 30/62 (48.4%) of these were male participants and 32/62 (51.6%) female. On engagement, the app had a mean score of 4.3/5 (SD 0.44), 4.6/5 (SD 0.38) on functionality, 4.3/5 (SD 0.57) on aesthetics and 4.4/5 (SD 0.60) on the quality of information. The overall app quality mean score was 4.4/5 (SD 0.31). The app was described as 'very interesting' to use by 44/62 (70.9%) of the participants, 20/44 males and 24/44 females. The content was deemed to be either 'perfectly' or 'well targeted' on sexual reproductive health by 60/62 (96.7%) adolescents, and the app was rated 'best app' by 45/62 (72.6%) adolescents, 27/45 females and 18/45 males, with a p-value = 0.011.ConclusionsAdolescents need on-demand, accurate and trusted SRH information. A mobile phone app is a feasible and acceptable way to deliver adolescent SRH information in resource-limited settings. The USSD mobile phone technology shows promise in the delivery of much needed adolescent SRH information on-demand..

Project description:Background:The objective of this study was to utilize a human-centered approach in designing a diet app that would assist in management of patients with metabolic syndrome. Methods:A convenience sample of 10 dietetic interns (DIs) who were attending their informatics rotation at the City University of New York School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY GSPHHP) were recruited during October 2017. The study was conducted in two phases. In phase 1, the DIs received a tutorial on the use of human-centered approach in designing mobile health applications. In phase 2, the DIs were provided a case study for which they designed an app for patients to manage metabolic syndrome using a human centered approach. The goal of phase 2 was to identify the features that were believed to be most important when designing this metabolic syndrome app. An initial questionnaire was administered to the DIs to gather information on their socio-demographics, prior training in nutrition, smart phone usage, perceptions about food logs, and calorie intake calculations. Subsequent questionnaires gathered information from the DIs on their preferred diet app components, app features, rankings of the features, and mock representations of the diet app with the selected features. Results:The DIs were enrolled in the supervised practice component of their training to be Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs). Fifty percent of them had previously worked in a nutrition-related field. One-third of them were currently using a nutrition app. The top five features of the proposed diet app which the DIs identified as very important included (I) personalization of the app based on user preferences (80%, n=8); (II) disease specific education tips (90%, n=9); (III) ability to track progress (80%; n=8); (IV) reminders (70%, n=7) and (V) reinforcement based on user feedback (50%, n=5). In translating the identified features into functional requirements, majority of the DIs felt that the five key features identified should incorporate the following components: (I) personalization of the app should comprise information on medical factors, personal information, personal preferences, and recording weights; (II) disease specific educational tips should comprise information on food selections, low sodium options, and recipes for diabetes; (III) tracking progress should comprise features for storing audio files, viewing previous logs and uploading photos into a library; (IV) reminders should comprise daily messages to the users from the app; and (V) reinforcement should comprise provisions to enter motivational messages. Conclusions:Our study lends support to the need for utilizing human-centered design (HCD) approaches in developing e-health dietary apps as well other non-diet related apps. App developers are encouraged to incorporate user characteristics, needs and preferences using a HCD framework that will allow for reproducibility, tailoring, user satisfaction, and effectiveness assessments.

Project description:BackgroundOptimal child-rearing practices can help mitigate the consequences of detrimental social determinants of health in early childhood. Given the ubiquity of personal digital technologies worldwide, the direct delivery of evidence-based information about early childhood development holds great promise. However, to make the content of these novel systems effective, it is crucial to incorporate place-based cultural beliefs, traditions, circumstances, and value systems of end users.ObjectiveThis paper describes the iterative approach used to develop the Thrive by Five child-rearing app in collaboration with Afghan parents, caregivers (eg, grandparents, aunts, and nannies), and subject matter experts (SMEs). We outline how co-design methodologies informed the development and cultural contextualization of content to meet the specific needs of Afghan parents and the content was tested and refined in collaboration with key Afghan stakeholders.MethodsThe preliminary content was developed based on a comprehensive literature review of the historical and sociocultural contexts in Afghanistan, including factors that influence child-rearing practices and early childhood development. After an initial review and refinement based on feedback from SMEs, this content was populated into a beta app for testing. Overall, 8 co-design workshops were conducted in July and August 2021 and February 2022 with 39 Afghan parents and caregivers and 6 SMEs to collect their feedback on the app and its content. The workshops were audio recorded and transcribed; detailed field notes were taken by 2 scribes. A theoretical thematic analysis using semantic codes was conducted to inform the refinement of existing content and development of new content to fulfill the needs identified by participants.ResultsThe following 4 primary themes were identified: child-rearing in the Afghan sociocultural context, safety concerns, emotion and behavior management, and physical health and nutrition. Overall, participants agreed that the app had the potential to deliver valuable information to Afghan parents; however, owing to the volatility in the country, participants recommended including more activities that could be safely done indoors, as mothers and children are required to spend most of their time at home. Additionally, restrictions on public engagement in music required the removal of activities referencing singing that might be performed outside the home. Further, activities to help parents reduce their children's screen time, promote empathy, manage emotions, regulate behavior, and improve physical health and nutrition were requested.ConclusionsDirect engagement with Afghan parents, caregivers, and SMEs through co-design workshops enabled the development and refinement of evidence-based, localized, and contextually relevant child-rearing activities promoting healthy social, emotional, and cognitive development during the first 5 years of children's lives. Importantly, the content was adapted for the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan with the aim of empowering Afghan parents and caregivers to support their children's developmental potential despite the security concerns and situational stressors.

Dataset Information

Child-Centered Design: Developing an Inclusive Letter Writing App.

Publications

Child-Centered Design: Developing an Inclusive Letter Writing App.

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