JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Digital health technologies have the potential to improve health outcomes for healthy seniors and those who are recovering from stroke. However, there are challenges to developing these technologies, such as data absenteeism (where their views are often underrepresented in research and development) and technology chauvinism (the belief that sophisticated technology alone is the panacea to addressing health problems), which hinder their effectiveness [1].

Objective:

In this study, we aim to address these challenges by developing a wearable glove integrated with culturally relevant exergames to motivate healthy seniors and seniors recovering from stroke to exercise and adhere to rehabilitation.

Methods:

We conducted a moderated usability study with 11 seniors who had a history of stroke and 8 healthy seniors without a history of stroke. Participants engaged in a 30-minute gameplay session with the wearable glove integrated with exergames, followed by a quantitative survey and qualitative in-depth interview. We used descriptive analysis to compare responses to the system usability scale between seniors who had a history of stroke and those who were healthy. Additionally, we analyzed the qualitative interviews using a bottom-up thematic analysis to identify key themes on the motivations and barriers to the usage of wearable gloves for rehabilitation and exercise.

Results:

Our study generated several key insights. First, making the exergames exciting and challenging could improve exercise motivation, but it could also have a boomerang effect, where participants become demotivated if the games are too challenging. Second, comfort and ease of use of wearable gloves were more important for healthy seniors than seniors recovering from stroke. Third, for seniors with a history of stroke, the functionality and purpose of the wearable glove were more important to help them with specific exercise movements.

Conclusions:

Our findings highlight the importance of providing contextual support for the effective use of digital technologies, particularly for seniors recovering from stroke. In addition to technology and usability factors, other contextual factors should be considered to provide a comprehensive approach to addressing health problems. To overcome data absenteeism and technology chauvinism, it is important to develop digital health technologies that are tailored to the needs of underserved communities. Our study provides valuable insights for the development of digital health technologies that can motivate healthy seniors and seniors recovering from stroke to exercise and adhere to rehabilitation. Clinical Trial: N.A.