Using paper prototyping to assess the perceived acceptance of MedMate: A home-based pill dispenser

Home-based pill dispensers are one of many devices that are designed to aid medication management and improve adherence. Such devices are common in the United States of America but not widely exploited in Asia. We designed a home-based pill dispenser known as MedMate. Users' perceived acceptance of a new technology such as MedMate affects its actual usage. Thus, we created a paper prototype of MedMate to get feedbacks from users early in the development cycle. We conducted a user study consisting of a questionnaire adapted from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), followed by an interview to gain more in-depth understanding of the users' perceived acceptance and more importantly their concerns regarding MedMate. The results of the user study show that the participants were positive about its usefulness and ease-of-use. More than two third of the participants were willing to accept and use the pill dispenser in their homes but with some concerns. Their main concerns include affordability, portability, reliability, safety and security, privacy, maintenance, durability, efficiency of reminder, accessibility and capability in handling different forms of medication. These findings resonate with our prior studies on the acceptance of other home-based medical devices such as mobile ECG-measuring devices. Thus, most of these factors can be extended for consideration when designing other home-based medical devices.