Health Kiosk
2014
Faculty
Our contention is that multi-user health kiosks, designed with input from older adults and situated in convenient community locations, offer a way to bolster their self-management confidence and capabilities, regardless of personal resources or distance from health services. We are expanding the features and functions of the Health Kiosk to include numerous self-report and performance-based measures, interactive elements, and health intervention modules. We have a longitudinal pilot study in the community, investigating Health Kiosk users' perceptions of, motivations to use, and patterns of use throughout a yearlong study period. Health Kiosks with emotion recognition and adaptive interaction capabilities are being deployed at three congregate sites operated by QoLT community partners: Presbyterian SeniorCare, the Jewish Community Center, and the Vincentian Collaborative. These kiosks enable individuals to measure and track their own physical, physiological, and psychological data; share brief reports with primary care providers; and engage with ehealth intervention modules designed to improve self-management of chronic disease, sleep, mobility and balance, lifestyle (nutrition, weight, and physical activity), and bladder health. We compare traditional self-report and performance-based observational measures to our novel automated methods of assessment for selected health and functional parameters (e.g., vital signs, height, weight, vision, hearing, peripheral sensation, strength, gait, balance, and smoothness of walking), in order to begin to establish the validity of the latter and the feasibility of adults ascertaining these data independently or with minimal supervision. We have addressed many logistical and human factors concerns that arise when a novel technology is moved from the relatively protected environment of the laboratory or used briefly in a community setting while supervised by the team, to an environment where the technology is likely to be used without supervision or with minimal assistance from on-site personnel. Our technology involves collection, display, and transmission of the personal health information of older adults whose dexterity, experience with computers, and ability to see and/or hear may vary widely.
Researchers
Daniel Siewiorek ,
Asim Smailagic, Judith Matthews
Research Areas
Enabling Technologies, Healthcare