RESUMEN
This paper presents Project PHoENIX, which stands for Participatory, Human-centered, Equitable, Neurodiverse, Inclusive, eXtended reality. The project aims to co-produce research with autistic users to create a virtual reality (VR) environment that is highly usable, accessible, and sensitive to the needs and preferences of these individuals. Project PHoENIX utilizes participatory design within a learning experience design (LXD) frame to locate autistic people, their caregivers, and providers centrally in the processes of immersive technology design and development, as well as research design and execution. An overarching literature review on VR and autism and issues of limited design precedent of VR environments with autistic participants is provided, as well as details on the Project PHoENIX design framework, project description, and project design outcomes. Details are provided on how the online VR environment was co-designed and co-developed through collaborative research with autistic stakeholders while being sensitive to their needs and preferences. Research findings and implications are discussed regarding the design process, constraints, principles, and insights. The paper concludes by discussing lessons learned and how this project can provide much-needed design precedent for advancing the field towards a more inclusive, human-centered, and neurodiverse VR research and development paradigms.
RESUMEN
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a lifelong and chronic condition that can cause severely compromised health. The T1D treatment regimen is complex, and is a particular challenge for adolescents, who frequently experience a number of treatment adherence barriers (e.g., forgetfulness, planning and organizational challenges, stress). Diabetes Journey is a gamified mHealth program designed to improve T1D self-management through a specific focus on decreasing adherence barriers and improving executive functioning skills for adolescents. Grounded in situativity theory and guided by a sociotechnical-pedagogical usability framework, Diabetes Journey was designed, developed, and evaluated using a learning experience design approach. This approach applied design thinking methods within a Successive Approximation Model design process. Iterative design and formative evaluation were conducted across three design phases, and improvements were implemented following each phase. Findings from the user testing phase indicate Diabetes Journey is a user-friendly mHealth program with high usability that holds promise for enhancing adolescents' T1D self-management. Implications for future designers and researchers are discussed regarding the social dimension of the sociotechnical-pedagogical usability framework. An extension to the framework is proposed to extend the social dimension to include socio-cultural and contextual considerations when designing mHealth applications. Consideration of the pedagogical and sociocultural dimensions of learning is imperative when developing psychoeducational interventions.
