Carla Galvão Spinillo

Patient Safety: Contributions from a Task Analysis Study on Medicine Usage by Brazilians

Medicine misuse in Brazil is one of the most relevant health issues affecting millions of people. This paper discusses the results of a study on usage of five different medicines by 60 adult Brazilians. Problems in task performance occurred with all medicines, especially those requiring measuring doses and object manipulation. Deficiencies in the design of the medicine inserts were also found. The outcomes enable to conclude that improvements in the design of instructions for patients and of medicine inserts, as well as of medicine bottles/containers are necessary to facilitate their use by Brazilians.

Reading Digital Medicine Leaflets in Mobile Devices an Interactive Study Conducted in Brazil

This paper describes an interaction study conducted in Brazil that aimed to investigate how people read a digital medicine leaflet in a mobile device. This insert summarizes the main typographic characteristics of Brazilian current digital leaflets. Tests were held with the participation of 20 volunteer individuals and consisted of four stages: (1) definition of participants’ profile, (2) task 1: finding specific information in the digital leaflet, (3) Task 2: reading the digital leaflet in a mobile device, (4) follow-up interview. According to the results of the interaction test, there is evidence that the current structure of the digital medicine leaflets in Brazil is not designed for access via mobile devices. The findings of this study point to the need of information design guidelines for the Brazilian digital medicine leaflets, considering interactivity and navigability aspects. It is important to propose new solutions for digital leaflets and test them with people, in order to ensure the legibility and usability of these documents.

The Open University of the Unified Health System in Brazil (UNA-SUS/UFMA): Identification and Hierarchization of Problems in Distance Learning Courses

This article reports a study of heuristic evaluation and hierarchization of the problems found on four distance learning courses offered by the Open University of the Unified Health System in Brazil (UNA-SUS/UFMA). It is part of a broader research on information architecture, interaction design and information design on e-learning courses. The sample was assessed through 88 heuristics and recommendations, followed by the FIP (Frequency, Impact and Persistence) technique to establish the severity of the problems found. The results showed that the sample did not meet (a) the information design principles of consistency, proximity, and hierarchy; and (b) the interaction design criteria of adaptability, explicit control and consistency. The sample also presented weaknesses in the information architecture systems of navigation, labeling and search. The heuristic evaluation followed by the hierarchization of problems have proved to be advantageous at the beginning of the evaluative research project. Recommendations were proposed to improve the distance learning courses.

Animation on How to Take Medicines: A Study of Electronic Patient Leaflets in Brazil

Animation has been proved to facilitate content learning. However, in Brazil the electronic Patient Information Leaflets (e-PILs) do not employ animation, but static images, to show medicine usage to patients. By considering animation a beneficial communication resource to PILs, a study was conducted with 80 participants on comprehension and simulated tasks of using the medicines: vaginal cream, insulin syringe, inhaler and nasal spray. The results ratified the assumption, however, suggest that (a) participants’ perception of their understanding and task performance are related to their satisfaction with the animation, and (b) there is a gap between users’ understanding of medicine animation and their task performance when using a medicine. Recommendations are proposed based upon the literature and the outcomes of the study.

An Interactive Guide to Design Animated Visual Instructions in Brazil

Animated visual instructions have been increasingly produced to support the industry of assembling products. Despite the growing demand for this type of instruction, in Brazil, little has been investigated on how animated instructions should be graphically presented to promote communication effectiveness. This paper discusses a research-based interactive guide to aid the design process of animated instructions in Brazil from user-centered design approach. First, to develop the guide, the graphic presentation of information of a sample of 23 animated instructions was assessed. Then, an experimental study on understanding and preference of narrative times slow, spontaneous and accelerated was investigated with 25 participants for an animation representative of the sample analyzed: the 3D puzzle assembly. Based on the results of the studies, guidelines were proposed to the interactive digital guide which usability was validated with 05 experts through checklist with heuristics, and with 10 potential users through post-interaction interviews. The results were generally positive about the content and graphic interface, but pointed to the need of improvements in navigation and menu hierarchy. Accordingly, adjustments were then made in the interactive guide in its final version.

How Do Patient Information Leaflets Aid Medicine Usage? A Proposal for Assessing Usability of Medicine Inserts

This Patient information leaflet – PIL provides support to medicine usage. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the usability of PILs since most research has focused on their readability and legibility, and legal regulations worldwide have neglected their usability aspects. Considering the importance of this matter, a proposal for assessing PILs’ usability is presented here, consisting of three phases: (1) task analysis diagram flow, (2) interaction test, and (3) follow-up interview, and the outputs are analyzed in a qualitative manner. To validate the usability assessment proposed, a study was conducted in Brazil with 60 participants on using medicines differing in their pharmaceutical presentation, based upon the instructions in their PILs. The results showed a direct relation between task complexity-errors; and the decision points-actions/ steps. The usability assessment aids in identifying drawbacks in the PILs design and information flow, thus, providing support to improvements towards their effectiveness in medicine usage.

Do-it-yourself (DIY) furniture for emergency situations: a study on assembling a cardboard bench in Brazil

In emergency situations caused by environmental adversities there is a demand for furniture that should be functional, low cost, easy to assemble and to transport in order to attend the needs for settling the victimised population in improvised shelters. This article discusses the role of procedural pictorial sequences (PPSs) in assembling a do-it-yourself (DIY) cardboard bench for emergency situations in Brazil. An analytical study of PPSs on DIY benches available in Brazil was conducted and an experimental study on comprehention of PPS for cardboard bench and its effects on task performance were carried out with 70 participants. The results showed defficiencies in action representation and in the order of pictures which affected participants understanding and task performance. Some guidelines for designing PPS for DIY benches are also proposed.

Saite AVA - Experience Report on the Construction of a Virtual Learning Environment for Learning Paths Methodology.

In the education modality known as Distance Learning (DL), the virtual learning environment (VLE) is the main platform that students use to take courses. Therefore, it should be designed to meet users’ expectations and needs and to be appropriate, following the innovations in the field of technology and education. This paper aims to perform a detailing of the VLE of UNA-SUS/UFMA: the Saite VLE, which is based on the methodology of Learning Trails. Saite VLE operation from users perspective will be explored, highlighting the most important and ground breaking aspects. In addition, it is intended to report the production process of this VLE from the point of view of the teams involved: pedagogical, graphic design and technology. Finally, it is highlighted the importance of applying updated teaching methodologies in DE courses, considering the innovations that constantly emerge in education.

The Design of the SaiteBooker: An Authoring Tool for E-books for Health Distance Learning Courses in Brazil

The demand for e-books for distance learning courses in the health field in Brazil has increased. Thus, it is necessary to accelerate the e-book production process. In this regard, this article reports the development and evaluation of saiteBooker, an authoring tool for e-books proposed by the Open University of the Unified Health System (UNA-SUS/UFMA) in Brazil. Within an information design approach, a qualitative evaluation was conducted, with 32 participants, through: (a) Expert assessment (n = 16) by technology and design experts, and information design researchers; followed by (b) Users’ assessment (n = 16). The results of the Expert assessment showed deficiencies in the visualization and consistency of components and functions of the tool. Based on these results, the saiteBooker tool was improved for the Users’ assessment (online questionnaire prior and post interaction). The results indicated that the improved tool was positively evaluated, meeting users’ expectations. To conclude, it is highlighted the importance of an evaluation method that combines technology and information design views with user testing.

Interaction and Animation in Health Infographics: A Study of Graphic Presentation and Content Comprehension.

In the digital environment, newspapers widely use animated and interactive infographics to explain relevant topics such as health information. However, technical features like interaction, animation, and sound can affect readers’ comprehension. We address this issue through an analytical and empirical study verifying the effects of animation and interaction on the understanding of health infographics. The procedures are described as follow. A sample of Brazilian newspaper health infographics was analyzed to identify the graphic characteristics of animation, interaction, and presentation of verbal information (written text and audio narration). An infographic representative of the sample was selected to be tested with 50 participants to verify the influence of animation, interaction and verbal presentation of information regarding content understanding, based on the results of the analytical study. The results we found are not conclusive yet, but in this study we identified that the health infographics of the selected sample do not follow the recommendations of prior literature, leading us to question the positive effect of interaction when merged with animation and the negative effect of on-screen text combined with animation or static images.