Healthy
Conditions
Brief summary
The investigators will evaluate a computer-animated character that explains medical illustrations to people, comparing the character to having people understand the illustrations on their own, and also comparing the computer character on a computer display to one in immersive virtual reality. The investigators will determine which method leads to the best understanding and lowest anxiety.
Detailed description
The investigators are developing a new approach to explaining patient education documents and illustrations to patients with varying levels of health literacy, involving the use of Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs). The investigators will evaluate our ECA-augmented Document Explanation tool to determine whether it improves patient learning relative to traditional static patient education documents. The investigators will conduct a 3-arm randomized between-subjects experiment, in which participants read a patient education document with embedded medical illustration, either unaided (CONTROL), with the assistance of an ECA rendered in 2D on a standard computer monitor (ECA-2D), or with the assistance of an ECA in immersive Virtual Reality (ECA-3D).
Interventions
A computer-animated character that can explain a medical illustration to laypersons.
Sponsors
Tufts Medical Center
Boston University
Northeastern University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Intervention model description
3-treatment between-subjects randomized experiment
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Over 18 years old * Speaks English or Spanish fluently * Is able to independently consent * Has adequate corrected vision to read patient education documents
Exclusion criteria
\* None
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | Baseline and 30 minutes | A multiple-item knowledge test designed to test comprehension of the patient education document |
| State Anxiety scale from State-Trait Anxiety Inventory | 30 minutes | Self-report state anxiety scale from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. 20 items, 4-point Likert scale. A higher score indicates more severe anxiety with a potential range from 20 to 80. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Satisfaction with illustration | 30 minutes | Likert items to assess satisfaction with the document and illustration |
| Reading Effort | 30 minutes | Likert items to assess perceived effort in reading a document and illustration |
| Acceptability | 30 minutes | Likert items to assess acceptability and appropriateness of the illustration |
Countries
United States
Contacts
Primary ContactTimothy Bickmore, PhD
Outcome results
None listed