Augmented reality in patient education and health literacy: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

BackgroundHealth literacy enables the patients in understanding the basic healthcare information and taking informed health decisions; thus, it is a desirable goal of any healthcare system. It increases patients’ adherence to treatment, improves the quality of care and eases the overall burden on the healthcare system. In recent years, technological solutions are being increasingly used in educating patients and achieving better health literacy. Augmented reality (AR) provides powerful, contextual and situated learning experiences and supplements the real world with virtual objects. AR could potentially be an effective learning methodology for the patients, thus, warranting a comprehensive overview of the current state of AR in patient education and health literacy.MethodsThe proposed scoping review will be based on the framework developed by Arksey and O’Malley, including the refinements suggested by Levac et al. A systematic search for references in the published literature will be conducted in nine research databases—Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed, PsycInfo, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and Association for Information Systems eLibrary (AISeL). The unpublished studies from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Conference Proceedings Citation Index and grey literature references obtained from a web search will also be included. Databases will be searched from inception to 14 January 2020. Two independent reviewers will screen the studies from the search results in two successive stages of title/abstract screening followed by full-text screening. Data variables will be extracted from the selected studies to characterise study design, type of AR technology employed and the relational factors affecting patient education. Lastly, key stakeholders will be consulted to gather their insights about the study findings.Ethics and disseminationThe results will be disseminated through stakeholder meetings and conference presentations. The data used are from publicly available secondary sources, so this study does not require ethical review.

Augmented Reality in Spinal Surgery: Highlights From Augmented Reality Lectures at the Emerging Technologies Annual Meetings

“…Lynch and Urakov emphasized that although AR is promising in the OR, it need not only apply to the spine surgeon with instrumentation. There has been a growing push in health literacy to use tools such as AR to help a patient fully understand the details of their care [ 29 ]. Already in the fields of Nephrology and Urology, 3D visualization using AR has shown a higher level of understanding of location, size and surgical options for tumor management [ 30 ].…”

How Do Patients Prefer to Receive Patient Education Material about Treatment, Diagnosis and Procedures? <br/>—A Survey Study of Patients Preferences Regarding Forms of Patient Education Materials; Leaflets, Podcasts, and Video

“…Each mode offers a different focus and a different aspect of meaning and, therefore, differently influences human cognition [20]. The computer, tablet, or smartphone is a tool for construction and dissemination of communication; therefore, digital technology opens up the possibility of using many different modes, and no specialized knowledge is required to activate additional modes [7] [8] [26]. It is also observed that modalities are co-constructed between patients and the clinic since patients use online resources to co-construct their own patchwork of communication bundles; however, this implies that the hospital, to improve communication and counteract potential inequalities between various groups of patients resulting from these wider semiotic practices, needs to know much more about how patients, in their social context, create value from various modes of communication.…”

“…According to the World Health Organization (WHO), patients with limited health literacy skills risk having a poorer health outcome and higher treatment costs. Improving health literacy skills can therefore have a positive effect on patient health outcomes, address health inequities, and reduce economic burden [4] [5] [6] [7] [8].…”

The Force of Habit: Examining the Status Quo Bias for Using Mixed Reality in Patient Education

“…Growing evidence proves that MR learning fosters long-term retention of learning content, increases motivation, and encourages teamwork [23]. Thus far, however, the vast majority of studies on MR learning focus on the education and training of healthcare professionals (i.e., physicians and nurses), while only a narrow set of studies shed light on the patient aspect of this [13]. Thus, Jakl et al [23] developed and tested a mobile-based augmented reality prototype to educate strabismus patients about eye surgeries based on interactive 3D storytelling.…”

“…To date, however, little is known regarding patients' perception of MR glasses in healthcare [13]. Klinker et al [14], who examined whether patients would accept healthcare services involving smart glasses, found that they reduce patients' willingness to consent to medical procedures, as the devices increase risk perceptions and decrease patients' assessment of healthcare professionals' skills.…”