Towards co-design of rehabilitation technologies: a collaborative approach to prioritize usability issues

Front. Rehabil. Sci., 2024 · DOI: 10.3389/fresc.2024.1302179 · Published: February 21, 2024

Patient Experience Assistive Technology Research Methodology & Design

Simple Explanation

This paper describes a novel method to prioritize end-user feedback using transdisciplinary stakeholder consultation and address it in subsequent product development. The proposed approach was demonstrated using a case study relating to the development of a novel technology for neural recovery after spinal cord injury. Signiﬁcance, technical feasibility, and implementation priority ratings were collaboratively assigned to user-identiﬁed issues determined through a think-aloud and semi-structured interview protocol.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

Five individuals with chronic spinal cord injury

Evidence Level

Original Research

Key Findings

1
Eighty percent of issues were rated to be of moderate to high signiﬁcance, 83% were rated as being feasible to address, and 75% were rated as addressable using existing project resources.
2
Fifty percent of the issues were rated to be a high priority for implementation.
3
Evaluation of the grouped issues identiﬁed 21 tasks which were mapped to the product roadmap for integration into future design iterations.

Research Summary

This paper presents a method for meaningful transdisciplinary stakeholder engagement in rehabilitation technology development that can extended to other projects. Alongside a worked example, we offer practical considerations for others seeking to co-develop rehabilitation technologies. The distinguishing strength of this approach is its embrace of transdisciplinary collaboration, ampliﬁed by the independent prioritization executed by an external stakeholder group, enriched by a spectrum of pertinent experiences and expertise in the ﬁeld of technology for rehabilitation.

Practical Implications

Informed design iterations

The described usability issue rating method can be used to transparently inform future design iterations.

Stakeholder engagement

The proposed usability evaluation method promotes consideration of objective and subjective user experiences, veriﬁcation of pre-conceived expectations, reconciliation of competing design and implementation priorities, and transparency in decision-making.

Co-production principles

This approach embeds co-production principles such as including all perspectives and skills, respecting and valuing the knowledge of all those working together on the research, and sharing power.

Study Limitations

1
Two individuals with lived experience of spinal cord injury were involved in assigning the signiﬁcance and implementation priority ratings (one individual per rating), and one individual with lived experience of spinal cord injury was involved in solution generation workshops.
2
Consultation can be a timely process, dependent on the availability of stakeholders outside of the project or the organization, therefore in some instances, usability issues were identiﬁed in parallel by chance and addressed prior to ratings being made available.
3
Approaches like instant data analysis, in which usability sessions are held on a single day and followed by a single brainstorming session in which as many issues remembered are recorded and mapped, may help to expedite the process (14, 15).

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