Mobile phone user interface design for patients with traumatic brain injury

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to determine the kind of mobile phone that would be most acceptable for use by people with traumatic brain injury (TBI). In order to explore the specific requirements of the said population, the qualitative interviewing method was employed guided by a literature review. Four participants with moderate to severe TBI from an in-patient and community rehabilitation facility in West Auckland, NZ took part for this study. Three mobile phones, obtained off-the-shelf based on the menu functionality they represented, were used as prototypes during interviewing. Interview data was analyzed using content analysis techniques to group issues raised by the participants into emerging themes. Based on the findings from this study, it is recommended that a mobile phone interface developed for therapeutic use with TBI patients should incorporate the following features: a) soft finger touch; b) large buttons; c) icons supported by titles; and d) a single level menu structure.

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Index Terms

• Human-centered computing

  • Human computer interaction (HCI)