Elizabeth Danielle Vasquez

I use human-centered design and robotics to determine design considerations for stroke technology in medically underserved people with stroke. We utilize a mixed-methods approach to determine needs and environmental factors essential to adoptable stroke technology and propose a technology to support the needs of both the person with stroke and their informal caregiver.

Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability and death in the United States, and its prevalence is expected to grow as the population ages. Home-based stroke technologies provide support when access to a clinic is not available. However, the unstructured and resource-limited home environment presents challenges to technology adoption and use. A greater understanding of user experience and environmental factors surrounding home-based stroke technology use can lead to more adoptable technology for all people with stroke, particularly medically underserved populations. To address this, we explore factors for the design of more adoptable home-based stroke technology for diverse populations of people with stroke, with an emphasis on medically underserved populations. We employ a survey and semi-structured interviews with diverse people with stroke and their informal caregivers. Finally, we propose a new stroke technology to support both the person with stroke and their informal caregiver to motivate and support healthy behavior in both parties.