Does Socioeconomic Status Affect Patients’ Ease of Use of a Touch-Screen (iPad) Patient Survey?

Abstract

Socioeconomic disparities influence the usage rate of advanced communication technologies in Canada. It is important to assess all patient interactions with computers and electronic devices based on these socioeconomic differences. This project studied the ease of use of a touch-screen interface program for collecting patient feedback. The interface collected feedback on physicians’ communication skills, an important health concern that has been garnering more and more attention. A concurrent paper survey was used to gather information on the socioeconomic status and the usability of the touchscreen device. As expected, patients who were older, had lower annual household income, and had lower educational attainment were associated with more difficulty using the devices. Surprisingly, 94% of all users (representing a wide range of socioeconomic status backgrounds) rated the device as easy to use.

Development of an Electronic Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention Program for Hospital Outpatients With Unhealthy Alcohol Use

“…Use of such strategies would probably increase the follow-up rate among hazardous and harmful drinkers from the 22/30 (73%) observed here to 24/30 (80%) or higher, putting it into an acceptable range for a trial of this type. Our finding that most participants could easily self-administer the e-SBI using an iPad is consistent with the findings of a Canadian study in which most (318/348, 91.4%) patients indicated that the iPad was easy to use [55]. Our observation that some patients would benefit from having a stylus available is also consistent with the Canadian study, which reported “some of the older users…seemed to struggle to adapt to the sensitivity and responsiveness of the touch screen” [55].…”

“…Our finding that most participants could easily self-administer the e-SBI using an iPad is consistent with the findings of a Canadian study in which most (318/348, 91.4%) patients indicated that the iPad was easy to use [55]. Our observation that some patients would benefit from having a stylus available is also consistent with the Canadian study, which reported “some of the older users…seemed to struggle to adapt to the sensitivity and responsiveness of the touch screen” [55]. As 27/99 (27%) of our study participants did not have access to email (ie, did not have the option of emailing a copy of the feedback to themselves to read and reflect upon later), our decision not to provide printed copies of the personalized feedback may also be a limitation.…”

Evaluating Tablet Computers as a Survey Tool in Rural Communities

“…1 In a similar vein, one study suggested that age is generally unrelated to ease of use of tablet computers, 24 whereas another study found that ease of use decreased with age. 25 Clearly, more research is needed to examine the utility of tablet computers.…”

“…In‐depth interviews with 5 investigators representing large health care quality projects praised the flexibility and research potential of tablet computers but also noted that unfamiliarity with tablet computers may limit their utility . In a similar vein, one study suggested that age is generally unrelated to ease of use of tablet computers, whereas another study found that ease of use decreased with age . Clearly, more research is needed to examine the utility of tablet computers.…”

Electronic Device Use and Fine Motor Dexterity & Handwriting: A Pilot Study of South African Grade 2 Children

“…Purposive sampling was used in the selection of children from middle class independent schools. This was to ensure that a sample population that potentially use more electronic devices, based on the socio-economic demographics of these households were accessed (Zarghom, Di Fonzo, & Leung, 2013). A sample size of 384 for large populations is sufficient to ensure approximately 5% error at a 95% confidence level (Chetty & Bhagwanjee, 1990).…”