ForgetMeNot: Active Reminder Entry Support for Adults with Acquired Brain Injury

Jamieson, M., O'Neill, B., Cullen, B. , Lennon, M., Brewster, S. and Evans, J. (2017) ForgetMeNot: Active Reminder Entry Support for Adults with Acquired Brain Injury. In: Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2017), Denver, CO, USA, 06-11 May 2017, pp. 6012-6023. ISBN 9781450346559 (doi: 10.1145/3025453.3025888)

Abstract

Smartphone reminding apps can compensate for memory impairment after acquired brain injury (ABI). In the absence of a caregiver, users must enter reminders themselves if the apps are going to help them. Poor memory and apathy associated with ABI can result in failure to initiate such configuration behaviour and the benefits of reminder apps are lost. ForgetMeNot takes a novel approach to address this problem by periodically encouraging the user to enter reminders with unsolicited prompts (UPs). An in situ case study investigated the experience of using a reminding app for people with ABI and tested UPs as a potential solution to initiating reminder entry. Three people with severe ABI living in a post-acute rehabilitation hospital used the app in their everyday lives for four weeks to collect real usage data. Field observations illustrated how difficulties with motivation, insight into memory difficulties and anxiety impact reminder app use in a rehabilitation setting. Results showed that when 6 UPs were presented throughout the day, reminder-setting increased, showing UPs are an important addition to reminder applications for people with ABI. This study demonstrates that barriers to technology use can be resolved in practice when software is developed with an understanding of the issues experienced by the user group.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Jamieson, Dr Matthew and Evans, Professor Jonathan and Cullen, Dr Breda and Brewster, Professor Stephen
• Authors: Jamieson, M., O'Neill, B., Cullen, B., Lennon, M., Brewster, S., and Evans, J.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Mental Health and Wellbeing; College of Science and Engineering > School of Computing Science
• Journal Name: Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
• ISBN: 9781450346559