A review of tools to support user-client involvement in architectural housing contexts

Simple SummaryDog bites are a major public health problem throughout the world. The different types of information sources that exist in relation to this issue are influencing decision making to control and prevent these incidents. For this reason, the present study aims to compare the main variables of interest in the publications of dog bite accidents in the written and grey press and scientific literature in Chile and Spain, between 2013 and 2017. The results showed that sensationalist variables in dog bite articles are reported more frequently in the press literature compared to the indexed and grey literature. Examples of these variables are involvement of potentially dangerous breeds, articles with death reports, among others. In conclusion, an improvement in the quality of the information that reaches the population about dog bites could be achieved through better and more fluid communication between scientists and journalists who publish on this topic.Dog bites are a major public health problem, with consequences such as physical injury, psychological trauma, transmission of zoonoses, infections, and economic costs. For this reason, it is necessary to develop preventive programs, which require quality information to support the authorities’ decision-making and to raise public awareness about the application of the proposed measures. The objective of this review was to analyze the press, indexed and gray dog bite literature published during the 2013–2017 period. During that period, 385 articles from three sources of information were analyzed: Press literature, scientific literature, and gray literature. Of these, the greatest amount of information corresponding to the context and the aggressor animal was found in the press literature, where it was recorded that the greatest number of records reported in the Chilean articles were caused by potentially dangerous breeds (87.50%), having significant differences with the gray literature (p = 0.030), and in Spain, the greatest number of attacks was also made by potentially dangerous dogs 91.30% (21/23), statistically significant differences with the gray literature (p = 0.002) and with the indexed (p < 0.001). In the case of the scientific and gray literature, the greatest amount of information was found about the victim of the attack and the treatments applied to them. In these cases, the highest percentage of victims included in the reports contained both sexes for the two literatures (44.62% and 87.71%, respectively). Regarding the treatment applied, in the scientific literature in most of the reports, the patients received washings, rabies vaccine, and tetanus vaccine (46.26%) and presented significant differences in Chile with the information contained in the gray literature (p = 0.023), in Spain with the gray (p = 0.017) and with the press (p = 0.023). In conclusion, the press literature differs in multiple variables with the information reported in the scientific literature and, in some cases, with the gray literature. The reason why the material that is being distributed to the population would not coincide in multiple relevant variables in other literature and the representative reality of the problem is the basis for this topic.

BackgroundSerious digital games can be effective at changing healthy lifestyles, but large differences in their effectiveness exist. The extent of user involvement in game design may contribute to game effectiveness by creating a better fit with user preferences. Participatory design (PD), which represents active user involvement as informant (ie, users are asked for input and feedback) or codesigner (ie, users as equal partners in the design) early on and throughout the game development, may be associated with higher game effectiveness, as opposed to no user involvement or limited user involvement.ObjectiveThis paper reports the results of a meta-analysis examining the moderating role of PD in the effectiveness of serious digital games for healthy lifestyle promotion.MethodsFour databases were searched for peer-reviewed papers in English that were published or in press before October 2014, using a (group-) randomized controlled trial design. Effectiveness data were derived from another meta-analysis assessing the role of behavior change techniques and game features in serious game effectiveness.ResultsA total of 58 games evaluated in 61 studies were included. As previously reported, serious digital games had positive effects on healthy lifestyles and their determinants. Unexpectedly, PD (g=0.075, 95% CI 0.017 to 0.133) throughout game development was related to lower game effectiveness on behavior (Q=6.74, P<.05) than when users were only involved as testers (g=0.520, 95% CI 0.150 to 0.890, P<.01). Games developed with PD (g=0.171, 95% CI 0.061 to 0.281, P<.01) were also related to lower game effectiveness on self-efficacy (Q=7.83, P<.05) than when users were not involved in game design (g=0.384, 95% CI 0.283 to 0.485, P<.001). Some differences were noted depending on age group, publication year of the study, and on the specific role in PD (ie, informant or codesigner), and depending on the game design element. Games developed with PD were more effective in changing behavioral determinants when they included users in design elements on game dynamics (beta=.215, 95% CI .075 to .356, P<.01) and, more specifically, as an informant (beta=.235, 95% CI .079 to .329, P<.01). Involving users as informants in PD to create game levels was also related to higher game effectiveness (Q=7.02, P<.01). Codesign was related to higher effectiveness when used to create the game challenge (Q=11.23, P<.01), but to lower game effectiveness when used to create characters (Q=4.36, P<.05) and the game world (Q=3.99, P<.05).ConclusionsThe findings do not support higher effectiveness of games developed with PD. However, significant differences existed among PD games. More support was found for informant roles than for codesign roles. When PD was applied to game dynamics, levels, and game challenge, this was associated with higher effectiveness than when it was applied to game aesthetics. Since user involvement may have an important influence on reach, adoption, and implementation of the intervention, further research and design efforts are needed to enhance effectiveness of serious games developed with PD.

The use of eHealth is more challenging for people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) than for the general population because the technologies often do not fit the complex needs and living circumstances of people with IDs. A translational gap exists between the developed technology and users' needs and capabilities. User involvement approaches have been developed to overcome this mismatch during the design, development, and implementation processes of the technology. The effectiveness and use of eHealth have received much scholarly attention, but little is known about user involvement approaches. In this scoping review, we aimed to identify the inclusive approaches currently used for the design, development, and implementation of eHealth for people with IDs. We reviewed how and in what phases people with IDs and other stakeholders were included in these processes. We used 9 domains identified from the Centre for eHealth Research and Disease management road map and the Nonadoption, Abandonment, and challenges to the Scale-up, Spread, and Sustainability framework to gain insight into these processes. We identified both scientific and gray literature through systematic searches in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and (websites of) relevant intermediate (health care) organizations. We included studies published since 1995 that showed the design, development, or implementation processes of eHealth for people with IDs. Data were analyzed along 9 domains: participatory development, iterative process, value specification, value proposition, technological development and design, organization, external context, implementation, and evaluation. The search strategy resulted in 10,639 studies, of which 17 (0.16%) met the inclusion criteria. Various approaches were used to guide user involvement (eg, human or user-centered design and participatory development), most of which applied an iterative process mainly during technological development. The involvement of stakeholders other than end users was described in less detail. The literature focused on the application of eHealth at an individual level and did not consider the organizational context. Inclusive approaches in the design and development phases were well described; however, the implementation phase remained underexposed. The participatory development, iterative process, and technological development and design domains showed inclusive approaches applied at the start of and during the development, whereas only a few approaches involved end users and iterative processes at the end of the process and during implementation. The literature focused primarily on the individual use of the technology, and the external, organizational, and financial contextual preconditions received less attention. However, members of this target group rely on their (social) environment for care and support. More attention is needed for these underrepresented domains, and key stakeholders should be included further on in the process to reduce the translational gap that exists between the developed technologies and user needs, capabilities, and context.

Abstract. Participatory design (PD) refers to the involvement of users in the design and development process. Those who may be identified as eventual users of such technology are often involved in the development process as testers or as informants. However, PD aims to transform this user involvement, allowing users to contribute ideas and influence the design of the resulting software product or service. PD therefore is not simply motivated by, or concerned with, the extent to which user involvement may improve the quality of technology. Rather, it is also concerned with the ethical and political dimensions of increased user participation. This combined focus on the quality of outcome and empowerment through participation in the process of design has attracted the interest of developers of technology for people with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDDs). In addition to the obvious benefit of improving software quality (e.g., by being aware of the unique requirements of such populations), researchers now also recognise that PD may help to improve inclusion and well-being for people with NDDs. Indeed, it is recognised that PD can help ensure that the rights of these individuals, both in terms of their right full societal participation and access to the technology that supports such participation. Research on PD with people with NDDs has been carried out increasingly in recent years. However, much of our collective knowledge is based on a disparate body of research, with different researchers focused on different aspects of the field. As a result, there is little in the way of concrete, practical advice for designers who wish to use PD with people with NDDs. In this chapter, therefore, we provide a narrative review focused on the practical aspects of previous PD projects. Our aim is to provide the novice PD researcher and designer with an overview of what techniques they might use and what challenges they might face when embarking on a PD project.

THU0613-HPR Challenges in Co-Designing a Web Service to Support Self-Management of Physical Activity in Individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis

The theme of this conference is 'Participatory Design in an Era of Participation'. Today's healthcare system is undergoing perceptible changes as the system is facing a paradigm shift due to demographic changes, technological developments, increasing complexity, organisational changes, and demands on user involvement and participation. The aim of this workshop is to reflect on the challenges and dilemmas which are emerging when participatory design is used in Healthcare, because the epistemological, cultural, methodological assumptions of participatory design collide with the traditionally well-established science tradition, language, culture and biomedical approach in health science.This workshop will be an opportunity to share our experiences in using participatory design in healthcare and research, or experiences in applying participatory design activities across different healthcare systems, particularly addressing dilemmas on knowledge, power and participation.

The objective of this research paper was to investigate whether size and age of listed firms relate to systematic use of HRM practices being followed by those firms and a significant difference exists between local firms and multinational firms operating in Sri Lanka with regard to systematic use of HRM practices. Three hypotheses were formulated using deductive approach. The study was conducted relating to all listed firms numbering 248, which were listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange. Type of investigation was correlational and it was cross-sectional in time horizon. The unit of analysis of this study was at firm level. The structured survey was administered to cover all the firms and human resource managers worked as the respondents on behalf of the firms. However data were possible to be collected from 66 managers representing 66 firms. In order to test the first and second hypotheses that were concerned with relationships of size and age with systematic use of HRM practices the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation technique was applied. The third hypothesis was concerned with difference between multinational firms and local firms with regard to systematic use of HRM practices and Independent Sample T test was the appropriate technique to test the validity of the hypothesis. The results of the study showed a significant difference existing between local firms and multinational firms operating in Sri Lanka with regard to systematic use of HRM practices. However the study revealed that size of the firm and the degree of systematic use of HRM practices and also age of the firm and the degree of systematic use of HRM practices are not significantly and positively related. Implication of the findings is that irrespective of the size of the firm and the age of the firm it is possible to establish good practices of Human Resource Management which contribute to provide the organization with a more appropriate and contended employee force that gives the maximum contribution to its success. In this context, top management support and employment of right personnel who specialize in HRM may be more important in enhancing the systematic use of HRM practices in firms. DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljhrm.v1i1.5110">http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljhrm.v1i1.5110</a> Sri Lankan Journal of Human Resource Management Vol.1(1) 2007 pp.36-52

&lt;p&gt;Learning environments are important spaces because these are where primary school children spend many hours. These environments can vary from single cell classrooms to modern open plan learning studios. As the design of these learning environments can affect the learning outcomes of students, their design and the design process behind them are important fields of investigation. Involving the users of learning environments in the design process is an important factor to be considered. Studies overseas stress the importance of involving teachers and students in the design process of learning environments. However, studies about learning environments in New Zealand show less consideration for the internal layout of classrooms and the involvement of users in their design process. Thus, this thesis studies and compares the design process behind learning environments in New Zealand with those overseas and the effect of this involvement on the design of primary school internal learning spaces, specifically classrooms. The aim of this thesis is create an understanding of the design process behind primary school classroom learning environments in New Zealand. To achieve the aim, this thesis undertakes five phases of study. The first phase is surveying primary school teachers and architects who design educational spaces, about the design and design process of learning environments in New Zealand. The survey results show that both teachers and architects support participatory design in schools and wish for more student user involvement. The second phase is a trial using social media to encourage more teacher and student participation in designing learning environments. Wordpress and Facebook groups were used for this experiment and teachers and students of primary schools in New Zealand were invited to participate. The trial result appears to indicate that social media does not work in encouraging students and teachers in thinking about the design of learning environments in general without having a specific project as a focus. The third phase is a workshop gathering five teachers and one architect to discuss the detail of the design process behind learning environments in New Zealand. The workshop result suggests that again participants support participatory design but suggest the need for guidance on how to do this, possibly from the Ministry of Education. The fourth phase is a case study of the early stages of a re‐build project for Thorndon Primary School in Wellington city. The case study included interviews, focus groups, observations, and collecting documentation. The main conclusion from the case study is that all parties to the project were in support of participatory design but would have benefitted from guidance as the whole design process and user involvement in it is unclear. The last phase is also case studies but here the focus is on the design process for rearranging the internal layout of two classrooms in two primary schools in Wellington city. The case studies covered observing the involvement of students in the design process, some classroom and brainstorming sessions, and interviews with teachers. The main result of this phase is the observation that students enjoy working on the design of their own environments and that they are able and ready to work as part of such a design process. The key conclusions of this thesis are that all parties involved in this research supported user participation in the design process, but in all the cases investigated there is almost no proper participatory design; students enjoy designing their learning environments and that enjoyment makes them belong and connect to these more; and proper preliminary guidelines for participatory design in learning environments could improve and encourage user involvement in designing learning environments in New Zealand.&lt;/p&gt;

Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage renal disease, and leads to everyday self-management of this chronic condition. This article aims to provide documentation for a participatory design study of a telehealth solution to improve the kidney transplantation process, and to identify the impact from the different participants in the participatory design study. Through a participatory design approach, a smartphone application (app) was developed for the entire kidney transplantation process together with a workflow for post-transplantation follow-up. A core element in participatory design is user involvement. By way of workshops and laboratory tests, the telehealth solution was developed in close cooperation with patients, their families, healthcare professionals, kidney association representatives, and Information Technology designers. The participatory design approach means that the telehealth solution was designed to be functional in a clinical setting, address patients' needs, and support their self-management.

End user involvement and input into the design and evaluation of information systems has been recognized as being a critical success factor in the adoption of information systems. Nowhere is this need more critical than in the design of health information systems. Consistent with evidence from the general software engineering literature, the degree of user input into design of complex systems has been identified as one of the most important factors in the success or failure of complex information systems. The participatory approach goes beyond user-centered design and co-operative design approaches to include end users as more active participants in design ideas and decision making. Proponents of participatory approaches argue for greater end user participation in both design and evaluative processes. Evidence regarding the effectiveness of increased user involvement in design is explored in this contribution in the context of health IT. The contribution will discuss several approaches to including users in design and evaluation. Challenges in IT evaluation during participatory design will be described and explored along with several case studies.

&lt;p&gt;Learning environments are important spaces because these are where primary school children spend many hours. These environments can vary from single cell classrooms to modern open plan learning studios. As the design of these learning environments can affect the learning outcomes of students, their design and the design process behind them are important fields of investigation. Involving the users of learning environments in the design process is an important factor to be considered. Studies overseas stress the importance of involving teachers and students in the design process of learning environments. However, studies about learning environments in New Zealand show less consideration for the internal layout of classrooms and the involvement of users in their design process. Thus, this thesis studies and compares the design process behind learning environments in New Zealand with those overseas and the effect of this involvement on the design of primary school internal learning spaces, specifically classrooms. The aim of this thesis is create an understanding of the design process behind primary school classroom learning environments in New Zealand. To achieve the aim, this thesis undertakes five phases of study. The first phase is surveying primary school teachers and architects who design educational spaces, about the design and design process of learning environments in New Zealand. The survey results show that both teachers and architects support participatory design in schools and wish for more student user involvement. The second phase is a trial using social media to encourage more teacher and student participation in designing learning environments. Wordpress and Facebook groups were used for this experiment and teachers and students of primary schools in New Zealand were invited to participate. The trial result appears to indicate that social media does not work in encouraging students and teachers in thinking about the design of learning environments in general without having a specific project as a focus. The third phase is a workshop gathering five teachers and one architect to discuss the detail of the design process behind learning environments in New Zealand. The workshop result suggests that again participants support participatory design but suggest the need for guidance on how to do this, possibly from the Ministry of Education. The fourth phase is a case study of the early stages of a re‐build project for Thorndon Primary School in Wellington city. The case study included interviews, focus groups, observations, and collecting documentation. The main conclusion from the case study is that all parties to the project were in support of participatory design but would have benefitted from guidance as the whole design process and user involvement in it is unclear. The last phase is also case studies but here the focus is on the design process for rearranging the internal layout of two classrooms in two primary schools in Wellington city. The case studies covered observing the involvement of students in the design process, some classroom and brainstorming sessions, and interviews with teachers. The main result of this phase is the observation that students enjoy working on the design of their own environments and that they are able and ready to work as part of such a design process. The key conclusions of this thesis are that all parties involved in this research supported user participation in the design process, but in all the cases investigated there is almost no proper participatory design; students enjoy designing their learning environments and that enjoyment makes them belong and connect to these more; and proper preliminary guidelines for participatory design in learning environments could improve and encourage user involvement in designing learning environments in New Zealand.&lt;/p&gt;

For years the CHI community has championed the importance of the user in system development. As many of us develop systems, we find that the concept of user involvement is not so easy to implement. Does one always strive to involve the user in the design process? Are there situations when the users should not be involved? What if the user is reluctant to change? How is user involvement handled when the user claims to know all the answers and wants to design the entire interface his or her way? What if the users, or even potential users are not available? How can user involvement be accomplished under these developmental restrictions? User Involvement, therefore, may be a goal - not a given, and how to effect user involvement is not as straight forward as the text books convey! To assist the process of user interface development, many techniques have been developed such as Heuristic Evaluation, Participatory Design, Cognitive Walk Throughs, Task Analysis and Rapid Prototyping. These techniques vary considerably in the extent of user involvement that they require. This panel will attempt to match the technique with the degree of user involvement that the developer is faced with or can achieve. The issues discussed in this session are important to the entire user interface community. Developers will be happy to hear that they are not alone; others have similar problems with users. They will learn which of the techniques are best suited for each development situation. Methodologists will gain greater insight into the breadth and depth of working with, and attempting to satisfy various types of users. They may be able to better refine the technologies we now have available to meet the needs of user interface developers. Members of the audience will be invited to participate as developers and methodologists.

Systematic review: Automated vehicles and services for people with disabilities

BackgroundThe involvement of mental health service users and their caregivers in health system policy and planning, service monitoring and research can contribute to mental health system strengthening, but as yet there have been very few efforts to do so in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).MethodsThis systematic review examined the evidence and experience of service user and caregiver involvement in mental health system strengthening, as well as models of best practice for evaluation of capacity-building activities that facilitate their greater participation. Both the peer-reviewed and the grey literature were included in the review, which were identified through database searches (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Knowledge, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, LILACS, SciELO, Google Scholar and Cochrane), as well as hand-searching of reference lists and the internet, and a snowballing process of contacting experts active in the area. This review included any kind of study design that described or evaluated service user, family or caregiver (though not community) involvement in LMICs (including service users with intellectual disabilities, dementia, or child and adolescent mental health problems) and that were relevant to mental health system strengthening across five categories. Data were extracted and summarised as a narrative review.ResultsTwenty papers matched the inclusion criteria. Overall, the review found that although there were examples of service user and caregiver involvement in mental health system strengthening in numerous countries, there was a lack of high-quality research and a weak evidence base for the work that was being conducted across countries. However, there was some emerging research on the development of policies and strategies, including advocacy work, and to a lesser extent the development of services, service monitoring and evaluation, with most service user involvement having taken place within advocacy and service delivery. Research was scarce within the other health system strengthening areas.ConclusionsFurther research on service user and caregiver involvement in mental health system strengthening in LMICs is recommended, in particular research that includes more rigorous evaluation. A series of specific recommendations are provided based on the review.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-016-1323-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Automotive human–machine interface (HMI) design is facing new challenges due to the technological advances of the last decades. The design process has to be adapted in order to address human factors and road safety challenges. It is now widely accepted that user involvement in the HMI design process is valuable. However, the current form of user involvement in industry remains at the stages of concept assessment and usability tests. Moreover, the literature in other fields (e.g. information systems) promotes a broader user involvement with participatory design (i.e. the user is fully involved in the development process). This article reviews the established benefits of participatory design and reveals perspectives for automotive HMI quality improvement in a cognitive ergonomic framework.Practitioner Summary: Automotive HMI quality determines, in part, drivers’ ability to perform primary driving tasks while using in-vehicle devices. User involvement in the design process is a key point to contribute to HMI quality. This article reports the potential benefits of a broad involvement from drivers to meet automotive HMI design challenges.