Bo Xie
ABSTRACT
A usability study of three Web-based multimedia health tutorials - MedlinePlus Surgery Videos, MedlinePlus Interactive Tutorials, and Surgery Simulation (pseudo name) by an U.S. non-profit organization - with 10 older adults was conducted in February-March of 2010. The primary research questions of the study were: 1) How senior-friendly are these three Web-based multimedia health tutorials? And 2) What are older adults' perceptions and use of multimedia features of Web-based health tutorials? Data were collected from interviews, surveys, and observation in three consecutive testing sessions. Three key themes emerged from the analysis: 1) Interactivity (e.g., built-in hands-on practice, quiz) can be useful but needs to be the right type (not too simple, not too complicated) and the right amount (not too little, not too much) for the right audience; 2) segmenting the information to show "the big picture," including showing how a specific body part is in relation to the whole human body, where the user is located within the broader framework of the tutorial, and providing pre- and post-surgery information, is important for the user to understand and follow the tutorial; and 3) "cartoonish" surgery tutorial has advantages over a "real" one. Overall, Interactive Tutorial was the most popular and easiest to use, followed by Surgery Simulation. Surgery Video, which has little interactivity, shows no segments or the "big picture," and presents the "real" surgery, was the least popular and most difficult to use. These findings have implications for understanding 1) the opportunities and challenges involved in developing Web-based multimedia health tutorials for older adults and 2) design and training interventions that may help facilitate older adults' adoption and use of Web-based multimedia tutorials.
- Fox, S. and Jones, S. 2009. The social life of health information. PEW Internet. Retrieved May 20, 2010, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/8-The-Social-Life-of-Health-Information.aspxGoogle Scholar
- Czaja, S. J., Charness, N., Fisk, A. D., Hertzog, C., Nair, S. N., and Rogers, W. A., 2006. Factors predicting the use of technology: Findings from the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE). Psychology and Aging. 21, 2 (June. 2006), 333--352.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Xie, B. 2009. Older adults' health information wants in the Internet age: Implications for patient-provider relationships. Journal of Health Communication. 14, 6 (September. 2009), 510--524.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Belbin, E. and Belbin, R. 1972. Problems in adult retraining. London. Heinemann, UK.Google Scholar
- Glass, J. C. 1994. Factors affecting learning in older adults. Educational Gerontology. 22, 359--372.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Hayslip, B., and Kennelly, K. 1985. Cognitive and noncognitive factors affecting learning. The older adult as learner, D. Lumsden Ed., Hemisphere Publishing, Washington DC, 73--98.Google Scholar
- Sterns, H., and Doverspike, D. 1987. Training and developing the older worker: Implications for human resource management. Fourteen steps in managing an aging workforce, H. Dennis Ed., Lexington Books, Washington DC, 96--110.Google Scholar
- Knowles, M. 1990. The adult learner: A neglected species (4th ed.). Gulf Publishing, Houston, TX.Google Scholar
- Charness, N., Schumann, C. E., and Boritz, G. M. 1992. Training older adults in word processing: Effects of age, training technique, and computer anxiety. International Journal of Technology and Aging. 5, 79--105.Google Scholar
- Cody, M. J., Dunn, D., Hoppin, S., and Wendt, P. 1999. Silver surfers: Training and evaluating Internet use among older adult learners. Communication Education. 48, 4, 269--286.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Czaja, S. J., and Drury, C. G. 1981. Age and pre-training in industrial inspection. Human Factors. 23, 485--494.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Gist, M., Rosen, B., and Schwoerer, C. 1988. The influence of training method and trainee age on the acquisition of computer skills. Personnel Psychology. 41, 255--265.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Jay, G. M., and Willis, S. L. 1992. Influence of direct computer experience on older adults' attitudes toward computers. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences. 47, 4, P250--P257.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Mayhorn, C. B., Stronge, A. J., McLaughlin, A. C., and Rogers, W. A. 2004. Older adults, computer training, and the systems approach: A formula for success. Educational Gerontology, 30, 185--203.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Jaeger, P. T., and Xie, B. 2009. Developing online community accessibility guidelines for persons with disabilities and older adults. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 20, 55--63.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Mayer, R. E. 2005. Cognitive theory of multimedia learning. The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning, R. Mayer, Ed., Cambridge University Press, New York, 31--48.Google Scholar
- Paas, F., Van Gerven, P., and Tabbers, H. 2005. The cognitive aging principle in multimedia learning. The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning, R. Mayer, Ed., Cambridge University Press, New York, 339--351.Google Scholar
- Mayer, R., and Moreno, R. 2003. Nine Ways to Reduce Cognitive Load in Multimedia Learning. Educational Psychologist. 38, 1, 43--52.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Xie, B., and Bugg, J. M. 2009. Public library computer training for older adults to access high-quality Internet health information. Library & Information Science Research. 31, 155--162.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Xie, B., White, A. C., Stark, C., Piper, D., and Norton, E. (in press). Serving older adult health information seekers in the Internet age: The role of public libraries. Public Libraries and the Internet: Roles, Perspectives, and Implications, J. C. Bertot and P. T. Jaeger Eds., Libraries Unlimited, Santa Barbara, CA.Google Scholar
- Strauss, A. L., and Corbin, J. 1998. Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.Google Scholar
- Cutcliffe, J. R. 2000. Methodological issues in grounded theory. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 31, 1476--1484.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Mayer, R. E., and Chandler, P. 2001. When learning is just a click away: Does simple user interaction foster deeper understanding of multimedia messages? Journal of Educational Psychology. 93, 2, 390--397.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Moreno, R., and Duran, R. 2004. Do multiple representations need explanations? the role of verbal guidance and individual differences in multimedia mathematics learning. Journal of Educational Psychology. 96, 492--503.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Hayden, T. 2006. Multimedia, interactivity and learning: Some lessons from the United Kingdom. Current Developments in Technology-Assisted Education. In Proceedings of the IV International Conference on Multimedia and Information and Communication Technologies in Education (M-ICTE2006), 22--25.Google Scholar
Index Terms
- Older adults' perceptions and use of web-based multimedia health tutorials
Recommendations
Making web-based multimedia health tutorials senior-friendly: design and training guidelines
iConference '11: Proceedings of the 2011 iConferenceTo better understand older adults' perceptions and use of Web-based multimedia features particularly in health-related content areas, we conducted a comparative usability testing of three Web-based multimedia health tutorials -- MedlinePlus Surgery ...
Recruiting Older Adults in the Wild: Reflections on Challenges and Lessons Learned from Research Experience
PervasiveHealth '18: Proceedings of the 12th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for HealthcareIt is important to understand the older adults prior to the design process. The understanding can better facilitate design conversations between the researchers and the older adults. In this paper, we discussed our experiences of building a relationship ...
Older adults and the web: lessons learned from eye-tracking
UAHCI'07: Proceedings of the 4th international conference on Universal access in human computer interaction: coping with diversityAn eye-tracking study of a prototype website was conducted with 10 younger adults (ages 20-39) and 10 older adults (ages 50-69) to determine if there are differences in how they scan webpages. They performed the same tasks on the website. On the average,...
Comments