ECA-enhanced Document Explanation RCT

Advancing Medical Illustration in Patient Education Materials: From Art to Science. Study 2: ECA-enhanced Document Explanation RCT

The investigators will evaluate a computer-animated character that explains medical illustrations to people, comparing the character to having people understand the illustrations on their own, and also comparing the computer character on a computer display to one in immersive virtual reality. The investigators will determine which method leads to the best understanding and lowest anxiety.

The investigators are developing a new approach to explaining patient education documents and illustrations to patients with varying levels of health literacy, involving the use of Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs). The investigators will evaluate our ECA-augmented Document Explanation tool to determine whether it improves patient learning relative to traditional static patient education documents. The investigators will conduct a 3-arm randomized between-subjects experiment, in which participants read a patient education document with embedded medical illustration, either unaided (CONTROL), with the assistance of an ECA rendered in 2D on a standard computer monitor (ECA-2D), or with the assistance of an ECA in immersive Virtual Reality (ECA-3D).

Inclusion Criteria:

• Over 18 years old
• Speaks English or Spanish fluently
• Is able to independently consent
• Has adequate corrected vision to read patient education documents

Exclusion Criteria:

* None