Presentation
MDD1 - "I Would Google It": Understanding, Simulating, and Mitigating Risks Associated With Lay Users' Reliance on Online Sources for Instructional Content
SessionPoster Session 1
DescriptionMany human factors (HF) researchers are familiar with the experience of watching a participant in a simulated-use study decline to read the manufacturer’s printed Instructions for Use for a medical device or combination product, saying instead that they “would Google” a video tutorial to find the use-related information they need. This represents common real-world user behavior, and yet is challenging to meaningfully simulate in a study and presents risk-mitigation challenges to manufacturers. With the rapidly evolving landscape of digital health, users are increasingly reliant on the internet. Video tutorials can be found online, but these resources vary in credibility, instructional accuracy, and accessibility.
Manufacturers, knowledgeable third-party sources (e.g., healthcare providers and institutions), and patients themselves all post how-to videos online. This poster considers the potential impact of the online accessibility of instructional videos on use-related risk. We ask:
1. What kinds of video tutorial content are available to patients online?
2. If the information patients find is not controlled or approved by the manufacturer, what can HF researchers do to understand and characterize the risk?
3. What can manufacturers do to mitigate the risks?
We consider the example case of the rapidly growing market of injectables for at-home patient use. This research evaluated the public online presence of a set of currently popular injectables, including biologics intended for the treatment of autoimmune conditions and GLP-1 agonists for diabetes and weight management. The purpose of the analysis was to identify potential barriers to users locating comprehensive, credible, and accurate instructional video content when searching online.
The analysis developed metrics to evaluate the ease of access to and credibility of the available tutorial videos for each product. For example, manufacturers often provide video tutorial resources (sometimes as part of the approved product labeling, and sometimes as marketing material). However, they vary in terms of how easy or difficult it is to locate and navigate to this information online and in how well they differentiate product-specific information from information about related products. Social media is an increasingly popular source of instructional video content, but the content presented to users is often dictated by audience engagement (i.e. likes, views, comments) which may or may not reflect the quality or credibility of the source. From this analysis, we draw conclusions about what factors contribute to the accessibility of comprehensive, credible, and accurate video tutorials online and, by extension, what manufacturers might do to promote safe use.
We also consider the impact of “Googling it” on the conduct of HF studies. The standard objective of HF testing, and particularly HF validation testing, is to evaluate a product’s intended use and regulated user interface, including the labeling. Indulging a participant’s desire to seek information elsewhere is typically not in scope for HF research, because such information is not within the manufacturer’s control, and for a pre-market product, information found online is not representative of what will be available to real users post-launch. We discuss these limitations and make recommendations for what kinds of information HF researchers can still collect about these user behaviors, and how that information can contribute to the manufacturer’s risk analysis.
Manufacturers, knowledgeable third-party sources (e.g., healthcare providers and institutions), and patients themselves all post how-to videos online. This poster considers the potential impact of the online accessibility of instructional videos on use-related risk. We ask:
1. What kinds of video tutorial content are available to patients online?
2. If the information patients find is not controlled or approved by the manufacturer, what can HF researchers do to understand and characterize the risk?
3. What can manufacturers do to mitigate the risks?
We consider the example case of the rapidly growing market of injectables for at-home patient use. This research evaluated the public online presence of a set of currently popular injectables, including biologics intended for the treatment of autoimmune conditions and GLP-1 agonists for diabetes and weight management. The purpose of the analysis was to identify potential barriers to users locating comprehensive, credible, and accurate instructional video content when searching online.
The analysis developed metrics to evaluate the ease of access to and credibility of the available tutorial videos for each product. For example, manufacturers often provide video tutorial resources (sometimes as part of the approved product labeling, and sometimes as marketing material). However, they vary in terms of how easy or difficult it is to locate and navigate to this information online and in how well they differentiate product-specific information from information about related products. Social media is an increasingly popular source of instructional video content, but the content presented to users is often dictated by audience engagement (i.e. likes, views, comments) which may or may not reflect the quality or credibility of the source. From this analysis, we draw conclusions about what factors contribute to the accessibility of comprehensive, credible, and accurate video tutorials online and, by extension, what manufacturers might do to promote safe use.
We also consider the impact of “Googling it” on the conduct of HF studies. The standard objective of HF testing, and particularly HF validation testing, is to evaluate a product’s intended use and regulated user interface, including the labeling. Indulging a participant’s desire to seek information elsewhere is typically not in scope for HF research, because such information is not within the manufacturer’s control, and for a pre-market product, information found online is not representative of what will be available to real users post-launch. We discuss these limitations and make recommendations for what kinds of information HF researchers can still collect about these user behaviors, and how that information can contribute to the manufacturer’s risk analysis.
Event Type
Poster Presentation
TimeMonday, March 314:45pm - 6:15pm EDT
LocationFrontenac Foyer
Digital Health (DH)
Simulation and Education (SE)
Hospital Environments (HE)
Medical and Drug Delivery Devices (MDD)
Patient Safety and Research Initiatives (PS)