Usability and ease of use of long-term remote monitoring of physical activity for individuals with acquired brain injury in community: a qualitative analysis

Introduction

Objective and continuous monitoring of physical activity over the long-term in the community is perhaps the most important step in the paradigm shift toward evidence-based practice and personalized therapy for successful community integration. With the advancement in technology, physical activity monitors have become the go-to tools for objective and continuous monitoring of everyday physical activity in the community. While these devices are widely used in many patient populations, their use in individuals with acquired brain injury is slowly gaining traction. The first step before using activity monitors in this population is to understand the patient perspective on usability and ease of use of physical activity monitors at different wear locations. However, there are no studies that have looked at the feasibility and patient perspectives on long-term utilization of activity monitors in individuals with acquired brain injury.

Methods

This pilot study aims to fill this gap and understand patient-reported aspects of the feasibility of using physical activity monitors for long-term use in community-dwelling individuals with acquired brain injury.

Results

This pilot study found that patients with acquired brain injury faced challenges specific to their functional limitations and that the activity monitors worn on the waist or wrist may be better suited in this population.

Discussion

The unique wear location-specific challenges faced by individuals with ABI need to be taken into account when selecting wearable activity monitors for long term use in this population.

Clinician satisfaction and preference for central venous catheter systems promoting patient safety, ease-of-use and reduced clinician error

OBJECTIVES

Central venous catheters (CVC) are frequently utilized with limited data on user preferences. A simulation/survey-based study was conducted among anesthesia providers to evaluate attitudes toward general CVC system attributes, and satisfaction with elements of the most-commonly used and a novel CVC system.

METHODS

Forty providers completed a simulation using both CVC systems and a 29-item questionnaire, including multiple-choice, free-text, ranking, and Likert-like questions. Ranking scores were reported using a scale of 0 (least important/satisfactory) to 100 (most important/satisfactory). Statistical significances were evaluated via Wilcoxon signed-rank sum test.

RESULTS

Participants chose (mean±SD) patient safety (83.9 ± 25.3), ease-of-use (64.6 ± 26.1), and reduced risk for error (61.1 ± 26.7) as the most important attributes when considering a CVC system. Satisfaction levels were significantly higher for the novel system: overall (p < 0.001), its ease-of-use (p < 0.001), tray layout/design (p < 0.001), and safety (p = 0.012). Mean satisfaction scores were significantly higher for the novel system's potential to reduce 5 of 7 common issues, including clinician error (p < 0.001), and contamination/infection (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Anesthesia providers preferred CVC systems promoting patient safety, ease-of-use and reduce clinician error. Significantly higher (p < 0.05) satisfaction scores were awarded to a novel system featuring a sequentially organized tray, enhanced labeling, and a guidewire funnel.

Emergency provider preference for powered intraosseous devices and satisfaction with features improving safety, reliability, and ease-of-use

BACKGROUND

Powered intraosseous (IO) systems are valuable devices for emergent situations, with limited data on user preferences. A simulation/survey-based study was conducted among emergency medical service (EMS) providers to evaluate attitudes toward general powered IO system features to measure preferences/satisfaction for the most-commonly used and a novel powered IO system (with a passive safety needle, battery life indicator, and snap-securement/dressing).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Forty-two EMS providers completed a simulated activity using both powered IO systems and a 30-item questionnaire, including multiple choice, free-text, ranking, and Likert-like questions. Ranking scores were reported using a scale of 0 (least important/satisfactory) to 100 (most important/satisfactory). Statistical significances were evaluated via Wilcoxon signed-rank sum test.

RESULTS

Providers indicated driver performance (mean score ± SD; 77.8 ± 27.5) and IO needle safety mechanism (63.1 ± 27.9) as the most important features. Participants reported significantly higher (p < 0.001) satisfaction with the novel IO system overall, and its needle safety, battery life indicator, securement/dressing, and ease-of-use. Powered driver performance satisfaction was similar and favorable for the novel (88.1 ± 18.2) and traditional (87.1 ± 15.3) systems.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the value of clinician/user input and demonstrate EMS providers are more satisfied with a powered IO system featuring design elements intended to enhance safety and ease-of-use.

Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of electronic health records among nurses: Application of Technology Acceptance Model

BACKGROUND

Electronic health records (EHRs) are increasingly being implemented in healthcare organizations but little attention has been paid to the degree to which nurses as end-users will accept these systems and subsequently use them.

OBJECTIVES

To explore nurses' perceptions of usefulness and ease-of-use of EHRs. The relationship between these constructs was examined, and its predictors were studied.

METHOD

A national exploratory study was conducted with 1539 nurses from 15 randomly selected hospitals, representative of different regions and healthcare sectors in Jordan. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which was based on the Technology Acceptance Model. Correlations and linear multiple regression were utilized to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Jordanian nurses demonstrated a positive perception of the usefulness and ease-of-use of EHRs, and subsequently accepted the technology. Significant positive correlations were found between these two constructs. The variables that predict usefulness were the gender, professional rank, EHR experience, and computer skills of the nurses. The perceived ease-of-use was affected by nursing and EHR experience, and computers skills.

CONCLUSION

This study adds to the growing body of knowledge on issues related to the acceptance of technology in the health informatics field, focusing on nurses' acceptance of EHRs.

Usability and performance-informed selection of personalized mental tasks for an online near-infrared spectroscopy brain-computer interface

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) allow individuals to use only cognitive activities to interact with their environment. The widespread use of BCIs is limited, due in part to their lack of user-friendliness. The main goal of this work was to develop a more user-centered BCI and determine if: (1) individuals can acquire control of an online near-infrared spectroscopy BCI via usability and performance-informed selection of mental tasks without compromising classification accuracy and (2) the combination of usability and performance-informed selection of mental tasks yields subjective ease-of-use ratings that exceed those attainable with prescribed mental tasks. Twenty able-bodied participants were recruited. Half of the participants served as a control group, using the state-of-the-art prescribed mental strategies. The other half of the participants comprised the study group, choosing their own personalized mental strategies out of eleven possible tasks. It was concluded that users were, in fact, able to acquire control of the more user-centered BCI without a significant change in accuracy compared to the prescribed task BCI. Furthermore, the personalized BCI yielded higher subjective ease-of-use ratings than the prescribed BCI. Average online accuracies of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] were achieved by the personalized and prescribed mental task groups, respectively.

Results from an international multicenter trial evaluating the ease-of-use of and preference for a newly developed disposable injection pen for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency in treatment-naïve children and adults

Previous research has reported that ease of use of and preference for a delivery device are associated with greater patient compliance – an important factor in achieving optimal therapeutic results. The objective of this study was to assess the ease-of-use of a new disposable pen (GoQuick^®, Pfizer, Inc.) versus the current reusable pen (GENOTROPIN Pen^®, Pfizer, Inc.) to inject a daily dose of recombinant DNA origin human growth hormone, Genotropin^® (somatropin) in standard practice. In this randomized, crossover, multicenter, multinational, open-label study, ease-of-use of and preference for the two pens were assessed in three treatment-naïve populations: 1) parents of very young children; 2) parent–child dyads; and 3) adults via use of a validated self-report Injection Pen Assessment Questionnaire (IPAQ) after 2 months of at-home-use experience. The primary endpoint was the proportion of participants who reported the new disposable pen to be no different from or easier to use than the current reusable pen. Safety was also assessed and reported according to local legal requirements. Of the 120 screened patients, 119 were included in the ease-of-use analysis and all were included in the safety analyses. In all, 67.2% found the new somatropin disposable pen to be no different from or easier to use than the reusable pen (95% confidence interval: 58.8–75.7). Most adverse events were mild or moderate. No deaths or device- or treatment-related serious adverse events were reported. These results suggest that improvements made to the reusable somatropin pen are tangible and recognizable to treatment-naïve patients and their caregivers, child–caregiver dyads, and adults, and may positively impact continued compliance with therapy.