title: Usability of digital media in patients with COPD: a pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Digital media can be integrated in tele-monitoring solutions, serving as the main interface between the patient and the caregiver. Consequently, the selection of the most appropriate digital medium for the specified target group is critical to ensure compliance with the tele-monitoring system.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This pilot study aims to gather insights from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on the ease-of-use, efficacy, effectiveness, and satisfaction of different types of digital media.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five off-the-shelf digital media devices were tested on nine patients at CIRO+ in Horn, The Netherlands. Usability was evaluated by asking patients to use each device to answer questions related to their symptoms and health status. Subsequently, patients completed a paper-based device usability questionnaire, which assessed prior experience with digital media, device dimensions, device controllability, response speed, screen readability, ease-of-use, and overall satisfaction. After testing all the devices, patients ranked the devices according to their preference.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified the netbook as the preferred type of device due to its good controllability, fast response time, and large screen size. The smartphone was the least favorite device as patients found the size of the screen to be too small, which made it difficult to interact with.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The pilot study has provided important insights to guide the selection of the most appropriate type of digital medium for implementation in tele-monitoring solutions for patients with COPD. As the digital medium is an important interface to the patient in tele-monitoring solutions, it is essential that patients feel motivated to interact with the digital medium on a regular basis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Information, Communication and Medical Technology, Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Amft
authors.forename: Emiel F M
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Wouters
authors.forename: Martijn A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Spruit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D040421:Cell Phone; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008838:Microcomputers; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D010865:Pilot Projects; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013686:Telemetry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014584:User-Computer Interface