Peter Rasche

Who Is Still Playing Pokémon Go? A Web-Based Survey

Background Poor physical activity is one of the major health care problems in Western civilizations. Various digital gadgets aiming to increase physical activity, such as activity trackers or fitness apps, have been introduced over recent years. The newest products are serious games that incorporate real-life physical activity into their game concept. Recent studies have shown that such games increase the physical activity of their users over the short term. Objective In this study, we investigated the motivational effects of the digital game “Pokémon Go” leading to continued use or abandonment of the game. The aim of the study was to determine aspects that motivate individuals to play augmented reality exergames and how this motivation can be used to strengthen the initial interest in physical activity. Methods A total of 199 participants completed an open self-selected Web-based survey. On the basis of their self-indicated assignment to one of three predefined user groups (active, former, and nonuser of Pokémon Go), participants answered various questions regarding game experience, physical activity, motivation, and personality as measured by the Big Five Inventory. Results In total, 81 active, 56 former, and 62 nonusers of Pokémon Go were recruited. When asked about the times they perform physical activity, active users stated that they were less physically active in general than former and nonusers. However, based on a subjective rating, active users were more motivated to be physically active due to playing Pokémon Go. Motivational aspects differed for active and former users, whereas fan status was the same within both groups. Active users are more motivated by features directly related to Pokémon, such as catching all possible Pokémon and reaching higher levels, whereas former users stress the importance of general game quality, such as better augmented reality and more challenges in the game. Personality did not affect whether a person started to play Pokémon Go nor their abandonment of the game. Conclusions The results show various motivating elements that should be incorporated into augmented reality exergames based on the game Pokémon Go. We identified different user types for whom different features of the game contribute to maintained motivation or abandonment. Our results show aspects that augmented reality exergame designers should keep in mind to encourage individuals to start playing their game and facilitate long-term user engagement, resulting in a greater interest in physical activity.

The “Aachen fall prevention App” – a Smartphone application app for the self-assessment of elderly patients at risk for ground level falls

BackgroundFall incidents are a major problem for patients and healthcare. The “Aachen Fall Prevention App” (AFPA) represents the first mobile Health (mHealth) application (app) empowering older patients (persons 50+ years) to self-assess and monitor their individual fall risk. Self-assessment is based on the “Aachen Fall Prevention Scale,” which consists of three steps. First, patients answer ten standardized yes–no questions (positive criterion ≥ 5 “Yes” responses). Second, a ten-second test of free standing without compensatory movement is performed (positive criterion: compensatory movement). Finally, during the third step, patients rate their subjective fall risk on a 10-point Likert scale, based on the results of steps one and two. The purpose of this app is (1) to offer a low-threshold service through which individuals can independently monitor their individual fall risk and (2) to collect data about how a patient-centered mHealth app for fall risk assessment is used in the field.ResultsThe results represent the first year of an ongoing field study. From December 2015 to December 2016, 197 persons downloaded the AFPA (iOS™ and Android™; free of charge). N = 111 of these persons voluntarily shared their data and thereby participated in the field study. Data from a final number of n = 79 persons were analyzed due to exclusion criteria (age, missing objective fall risk, missing self-assessment). The objective fall risk and the self-assessed subjective risk measured by the AFPA showed a significant positive relationship.ConclusionsThe “Aachen Fall Prevention App” (AFPA) is an mHealth app released for iOS and Android. This field study revealed the AFPA as a promising tool to raise older adults’ awareness of their individual fall risk by means of a low-threshold patient-driven fall risk assessment tool.

Use of Information and Communication Technology in Healthcare Context by Older Adults in Germany: Initial Results of the Tech4Age Long-Term Study

Abstract In 2016 the interdisciplinary research team Tech4Age started its long-term survey to evaluate the use of information and communication technology (ICT) by older adults ( 60 +

Best Practices for Designing Electronic Healthcare Devices and Services for the Elderly

60+

Influence of Mobile ICT on the Adherence of Elderly People with Chronic Diseases

) in Germany. This study focuses on the use of ICT devices and applications, the evaluation how these devices are operated in terms of ergonomic hand positions, the investigation of health information usage as well as technology affinity, health literacy and computer literacy. The first run of the Tech4Age long-term study was done by sending a paper-based questionnaire to 5,000 individuals older than 60 years randomly selected from the total German population and equally locally distributed within Germany. Responses were collected from N = 551 participants with a mean age of 69.17 years (SD = 5.787). The gender ratio of the sample is balanced, including 51.3% male and 48.7% female. Results provide descriptive insights into technology usage and knowledge about influencing factors. Older adults already use modern ICT on a large scale, for example to do online banking or for mobility reasons (navigation, booking tickets, etc.), but health-related ICT products and applications have been used less, mainly due to mistrust. Investigation of health information usage showed that doctors and pharmacists are the main sources older adults rely on. Two thirds of all participants were satisfied with general information they got about health. The evaluation of the ergonomic use of ICT devices revealed a common way of use, namely that a majority of older adults prefer to use their ICT devices in the case of a small display in portrait mode and in the case of larger displays in portrait as well as landscape mode. Touch input is always performed with a finger or the second hand, the one not holding the device. The article will present and discuss the results in detail.

An Age-Differentiated Perspective on Visualizations of Personal Health Data

Abstract Demographic change and associated shifts in the age structure lead to major challenges in health processes. One way to address this is to increase the use of telemedicine systems and services to ensure non-local yet individualized patient care, such as in rural areas. When considering new medical technology components, we must compensate for age-related changes in perception, cognition and motor skills to achieve user-centered design and take into account psychophysical effect relationships to achieve sustainable acceptance for technology integration. This paper presents various best-practice examples for participatory investigation into influencing factors, with a focus on the different times and periods within the lifecycle of a telemedical product and associated services. In addition to giving concrete design hints derived from individual studies, the paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the paradigms used and provides recommendations for user-centric development with old and very old patients.

Mobile Technology Improves Therapy-Adherence Rates in Elderly Patients Undergoing Rehabilitation—A Crossover Design Study

A great variety of applications for mobile devices are designed to support users during medical intake. One of these applications is ‘Medication Plan’ which aims at supporting regular and correct intake of medication and documentation of vital parameters. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of demographic and health-related factors on user behavior and patterns of use. The application was available free of charge between 2010 and 2012 in the Apple™-App-Store™. The study is based on data collected via an online questionnaire. In total 1799 participants generated 1708 complete data sets. 69 % of the users (74 % male) with a median age of 45 applied ‘Medication Plan’ for more than one day. The mean duration of application increased substantially with age ( 60 years = 103.9 days). However, other demographic factors (sex, educational status etc.) had no effect on usage intensity. Users with complicated medical treatment or aged > 60 years applied the application for 3 month on average. This is a promising trend towards the support treatment of chronic conditions with mobile applications.

Age-related usability investigation of an activity tracker

The digitalization of medical human-machine system equips data with an essential role during processes supported by digital information systems. Here, data and information visualizations are able to reduce complexity only if influencing variables on human understanding, insight, and decision-making can be controlled, quantified and ergonomically designed. Present chapter provides an review on previous work in computer sciences, engineering, psychology and medicine in order to descriptively summarize human aspects which are relevant for the design of data and information visualizations in healthcare settings. The second part of this chapter builds upon the outcome of this review by working out current challenges of information and data visualization for consumer healthcare systems and introducing three studies which serves to tackle those challenges.

User-Driven Semantic Classification for the Analysis of Abstract Health and Visualization Tasks

In this publication the results of an empirical study are analyzes regarding the research question if a mobile application on a tablet computer, to support the drug intake and vital sign parameter documentation, affects adherence of elderly patients. For the achievement in the management of patients with hypertension adherence of their medication is essential. Patients with no prior knowledge of tablet computers and a coronary heart disease were included. All Patients were instructed personally into the mobile application “Medication Plan”, installed on an Apple iPad™. This study was performed in a crossover design with three sequences. The first sequence is the initial phase, followed by the interventional phase (28 days of using the app system) and at least the comparative phase (28 days of using a paper diary). The interventional and comparative phases were conducted alternately. Altogether, 24 patients (12 male; mean age 73.8 years) were registered. The subjectively assessed adherence (A 14 scale) was 50.0 before the study started (SD 3.44). After the enforcement of both interventions there was a significant increase, which was more pronounced after the intervention phase (54.0, SD 2.01) than the comparative phase (52.6, SD 2.49) (for all pairs p < 0.001). Furthermore, the medical conditions, or the number of drug intakes per day had no effect on the subjective adherence. For both blood pressure recordings (p < 0.001) and medication intake (p = 0.033) the obtained logging data showed a significantly stronger adherence for the medication-app than the paper diary system. The majority of participants (n = 22) denoted that they would like to use the medication-app in everyday life and do not need any further assistance. A mobile app for medication adherence strengthened objectively and subjectively metered adherence of elderly users folding rehabilitation.

Neuroergonomic analysis of perihand space: effects of hand proximity on eye-tracking measures and performance in a visual search task

Activity trackers, measuring motion and steps, enable users to monitor their behaviour and may support a healthier lifestyle. To gain more detailed insight into initial and long-term use, a two-phase explorative study with two age groups (young/old) was conducted. The age of the younger group ranged from 19 to 30 years and of the older group from 60 to 78 years. In total, N = 30 participants (15 younger/15 older) took part in the first phase of the study. This phase lasted 4 weeks and provided in-depth information on usability as measured by the post-study system usability questionnaire (PSSUQ), on motivation, as measured by a seven-point Likert scale and on subjective mental effort during the initial contact, as measured by the rating scale of mental effort (RSME). N = 8 participants (4 younger/4 older) out of the original 30 decided to participate in a second phase, which lasted 6 months and was designed to observe long-term use of an activity tracker. The results show that the activity trackers usability is generally suitable for both age groups. All participants were able to use the activity tracker independently without any special training or instructions from the principal investigator. Further, this study revealed that length of use of an activity tracker is independent of technology affinity and perceived usability. It decreases over time depending on the users knowledge about his or her physical activity. Finally, indication for age-related differences in the requirements and key functions of an activity tracker were found.