OBJECTIVE: This study\'s aims were 3-fold, to (1) understand how members of minoritized low-SES communities perceive current mHealth wearable devices, (2) identify the barriers and facilitators toward adoption, and (3) articulate design requirements for future wearable devices to enable equitable access for these communities.
METHODS: We performed semistructured interviews with low-SES Hispanic or Latine adults (N=19) from 2 metropolitan cities in the Midwest and West Coast of the United States. Participants were asked questions about how they perceive wearables, what are the current benefits and barriers toward use, and what features they would like to see in future wearable devices. Common themes were identified and analyzed through an exploratory qualitative approach.
RESULTS: Through qualitative analysis, we identified 4 main themes. Participants\' perceptions of wearable devices were strongly influenced by their COVID-19 experiences. Hence, the first theme was related to the impact of COVID-19 on the community, and how this resulted in a significant increase in interest in wearables. The second theme highlights the challenges faced in obtaining adequate health resources and how this further motivated participants\' interest in health wearables. The third theme focuses on a general distrust in health care infrastructure and systems and how these challenges are motivating a need for wearables. Lastly, participants emphasized the pressing need for community-driven design of wearable technologies.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study reveal that participants from underserved communities are showing emerging interest in using health wearables due to the COVID-19 pandemic and health care access issues. Yet, the needs of these individuals have been excluded from the design and development of current devices.
目的:本研究的目的是3倍,(1)了解少数族裔低SES社区的成员如何看待当前的mHealth可穿戴设备,(2)确定采用的障碍和促进者,(3)阐明未来可穿戴设备的设计要求,以实现这些社区的公平访问。
方法:我们对来自美国中西部和西海岸2个大都市的西班牙裔或拉丁裔成年人(N=19)进行了半结构化访谈。参与者被问及如何看待可穿戴设备,当前使用的好处和障碍是什么,以及他们希望在未来的可穿戴设备中看到什么功能。通过探索性定性方法确定和分析了共同主题。
结果:通过定性分析,我们确定了四个主要主题。参与者对可穿戴设备的看法受到他们COVID-19经历的强烈影响。因此,第一个主题与COVID-19对社区的影响有关,以及这如何导致对可穿戴设备的兴趣显著增加。第二个主题强调了在获得足够的卫生资源方面面临的挑战,以及这如何进一步激发参与者对健康可穿戴设备的兴趣。第三个主题侧重于对医疗保健基础设施和系统的普遍不信任,以及这些挑战如何激发对可穿戴设备的需求。最后,与会者强调迫切需要社区驱动的可穿戴技术设计。
结论:这项研究的结果表明,由于COVID-19大流行和医疗保健获取问题,来自服务不足社区的参与者对使用健康可穿戴设备表现出了新的兴趣。然而,这些人的需求被排除在当前设备的设计和开发之外。