Abstract
BackgroundIndoor air pollution is harmful to everyone, but children are of particular concern, as they are more vulnerable to its adverse health effects from air pollutants. Although mobile technology is increasingly being designed to support monitoring and improving air quality indoors, little attention has been paid to its use by and for children. Previously, we created inAirKids, a child-friendly device to promote children’s engagement with monitoring indoor air quality through a participatory design process. The next step is to evaluate its usability in the real world.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to investigate how inAirKids affects children’s understanding of and engagement with indoor air quality through a longitudinal field deployment study.MethodsWe deployed inAirKids in the homes of 9 children aged between 6 and 7 years, and investigated their use for up to 16 weeks by conducting semistructured, biweekly interviews.ResultsThe results show that participants promptly engaged with inAirKids but quickly lost interest in it owing to the lack of engaging factors to sustain engagement. In addition, we identified 2 design considerations that can foster sustained engagement of children with monitoring indoor air quality: design interactivity for engaging in continuity and corporate hands-on activities as part of indoor air quality monitoring for experiential learning.ConclusionsOur findings shed light on the potential to promote the engagement of children in indoor air quality as well as considerations for designing a child-friendly digital device. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal field deployment to investigate how to engage children in monitoring indoor air quality.
Highlights
BackgroundIt is widely known that air quality indoors, where people spend most of their time, is essential for occupant health and comfort [1]
Our findings shed light on the potential to promote the engagement of children in indoor air quality as well as considerations for designing a child-friendly digital device
Most existing indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring devices are optimized for interaction with adult users, which display air quality information using numeric figures, text, and graphs [6]
Summary
BackgroundIt is widely known that air quality indoors, where people spend most of their time, is essential for occupant health and comfort [1]. Owing to the advancement of personal and sensing technologies, smart devices are increasingly available in the market to monitor indoor air quality (IAQ). These devices have proven effective in improving IAQ, as making occupants aware of the IAQ levels in the homes can positively motivate their behaviors toward better IAQ [5]. Most existing IAQ monitoring devices are optimized for interaction with adult users, which display air quality information using numeric figures, text, and graphs [6]. This trend leaves behind important household https://formative.jmir.org/2022/1/e32404. The step is to evaluate its usability in the real world
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