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Investigating Technology Adoption Soon After Sustaining a Spinal Cord Injury

Authors:

Tamanna Motahar,

Jason WieseAuthors Info & Claims

Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, Volume 8, Issue 1

Article No.: 14, Pages 1 - 24

https://doi.org/10.1145/3643507

Published: 06 March 2024 Publication History

Abstract

A spinal cord injury (SCI) typically results in a sudden change to an individual's motor function. People's adoption of technology soon after a severe SCI is crucial, since they must relearn most technology interactions to adjust to their new physical abilities and regain independence. This study examines how individuals adopt technologies soon after sustaining a severe SCI. By qualitatively analyzing the perspectives of ten rehabilitation clinicians, three individuals who recently sustained an SCI, and two of those participants' family members, we surfaced a spectrum of individuals' motivations to adopt technology post-injury and highlight the challenges they face to adopt technology. Our findings highlight the need to incorporate the holistic experience---including technology literacy, perception of support, and acceptance of the "new-normal"---in technology design for individuals who have a sudden change to motor functions. Our findings show that technology adoption is a critical component for the overall adjustment of post-SCI life. Finally, we use the extended version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to make recommendations for more inclusive assistive design.

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Cited By

Motahar TBrown NWiese EWiese J(2024)Toward Building Design Empathy for People with Disabilities Using Social Media Data: A New Approach for Novice DesignersProceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3643834.3660687(3145-3160)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3643834.3660687

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cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies

Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies Volume 8, Issue 1

March 2024

1182 pages

EISSN:2474-9567

DOI:10.1145/3651875

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Published: 06 March 2024

Published in IMWUT Volume 8, Issue 1

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Motahar TBrown NWiese EWiese J(2024)Toward Building Design Empathy for People with Disabilities Using Social Media Data: A New Approach for Novice DesignersProceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3643834.3660687(3145-3160)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3643834.3660687

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