Qingfan An
 Effective HCI design in Healthcare: An Evaluation Framework for Applications Designed to Promote the Maintenance of a Healthy Lifestyle Amongst Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

MRes
Healthcare

    Summary

    Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is predicted to become the fourth leading cause of death by the end of 2030 (Tsiligianni et al., 2012). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 90% of COPD deaths occur in low and middle-income countries (WHO, 2017); the overall rate in China is 8.2% and the associated mortality rate is 1.6% (Fang, Wang, & Bai, 2011). The chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has a high economic cost, with the total expenditure per patient amounting to 40% or nearly one-third of an average family’s income in urban and rural areas, respectively. With the ever-increasing demands on services, COPD policy and investment in China have improved over recent years (Yang & Kovarik, 2019); this makes the country a valuable point of reference for COPD researchers.

    The high demand for self-management inventions and the low market penetration rates of HCI interventions in healthcare seem paradoxical. Certainly, the measurement of quality in HCI design is not properly developed. Medical products should undergo a systematic design and evaluation process to ensure that they can be used to their full potential. The purpose of the present study is to build an evaluation framework for HCI design and relate this to the remission period amongst patients with COPD. The framework will be developed using qualitative data generated by COPD patients and health providers.

    Additional info

    The aim of the present research is to build an evaluation framework for HCI design applied during the COPD remission period. The questions are as follows.

    1. How can evidence of the key considerations for self-management interventions be gathered, and how can their feasibility be measured?

    1. 2. What are the core facilitating and obstructive factors amongst COPD patients in relation to rehabilitation exercises?
    2. 3. What are the mutual barriers faced by stakeholders involved in the development of HCI interventions in the self-management of COPD
    3. patients?

    4. How can qualitative data be incorporated into an evaluation framework, and how can this then be applied to the HCI design process?

    It is proposed that four studies be carried out to answer the above questions and thereby to facilitate behavioral change amongst COPD patients in remission. Study 1 is a systematic review and meta-analysis of the key considerations when developing self-management interventions for COPD patients in remission. Study 2 is to identify the core facilitating and obstructive factors amongst COPD patients in relation to rehabilitation exercises through questionnaires and focus groups. Study 3 is to find the mutual barriers of stakeholders involved in the development of HCI intervention in the self-management of COPD patients. Study 4 is to upgrade the design process of HCI intervention in the self-management of COPD patients through attaching the evaluation framework generated from the above research.

    The research adopts an interdisciplinary approach, combining insights from TTM, psychology and HCI design. The questionnaire, focus groups, qualitative interview and experience prototyping will be used as main approaches in collecting the qualitative data.

    We recruited COPD patients (Study 2) and the health professionals (Study 3) from the Respiration department of the Haser Medical Group in China. COPD patients were selected from the patients who had seen a doctor or been hospitalized in the Haser medical Group. Healthcare providers were composed of doctors and nurses working at the Respiration Department. Patients and healthcare providers were invited to participate in surveys, qualitative interviews or focus groups via written or face to face invitation.