Pill Assist: Using Principles of Design to Improve Medication Adherence among People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Ghana

People's lives are made easier through design and technology, whether it is a smartphone or a device that assists visually impaired people. This research explores new approaches to pillbox design for people taking medication. Pillboxes are meant to support patients with serious illnesses like HIV/AIDS for which regular medication-taking is necessary. Using electronics, experiments were conducted on different designs, forms, and structures of traditional pillboxes. This research uses a qualitative research and prototyping strategy to investigate the potential of good design on technological advancements to improve low medication adherence rates due to stigma for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Ghana, while also making medicine-taking a more private experience. The Pill Assist prototype is a wearable device that takes a traditional wallet design and transforms it into a dual-purpose medication storage and reminder system. This device assists people with pill-taking in a timely manner while keeping their status private. Pill Assist introduces new ways in which wearable design can be integrated into pill-taking and as a lifestyle solution. Findings from this study are an initial step toward applying good design principles and technology to develop solutions that cater to all stigma-related diseases

Quantifying Quality of Life

Describes technological methods and tools for objective and quantitative assessment of QoL Appraises technology-enabled methods for incorporating QoL measurements in medicine Highlights the success factors for adoption and scaling of technology-enabled methods This open access book presents the rise of technology-enabled methods and tools for objective, quantitative assessment of Quality of Life (QoL), while following the WHOQOL model. It is an in-depth resource describing and examining state-of-the-art, minimally obtrusive, ubiquitous technologies. Highlighting the required factors for adoption and scaling of technology-enabled methods and tools for QoL assessment, it also describes how these technologies can be leveraged for behavior change, disease prevention, health management and long-term QoL enhancement in populations at large. Quantifying Quality of Life: Incorporating Daily Life into Medicine fills a gap in the field of QoL by providing assessment methods, techniques and tools. These assessments differ from the current methods that are now mostly infrequent, subjective, qualitative, memory-based, context-poor and sparse. Therefore, it is an ideal resource for physicians, physicians in training, software and hardware developers, computer scientists, data scientists, behavioural scientists, entrepreneurs, healthcare leaders and administrators who are seeking an up-to-date resource on this subject

Quantifying Quality of Life

Describes technological methods and tools for objective and quantitative assessment of QoL Appraises technology-enabled methods for incorporating QoL measurements in medicine Highlights the success factors for adoption and scaling of technology-enabled methods This open access book presents the rise of technology-enabled methods and tools for objective, quantitative assessment of Quality of Life (QoL), while following the WHOQOL model. It is an in-depth resource describing and examining state-of-the-art, minimally obtrusive, ubiquitous technologies. Highlighting the required factors for adoption and scaling of technology-enabled methods and tools for QoL assessment, it also describes how these technologies can be leveraged for behavior change, disease prevention, health management and long-term QoL enhancement in populations at large. Quantifying Quality of Life: Incorporating Daily Life into Medicine fills a gap in the field of QoL by providing assessment methods, techniques and tools. These assessments differ from the current methods that are now mostly infrequent, subjective, qualitative, memory-based, context-poor and sparse. Therefore, it is an ideal resource for physicians, physicians in training, software and hardware developers, computer scientists, data scientists, behavioural scientists, entrepreneurs, healthcare leaders and administrators who are seeking an up-to-date resource on this subject