ESR photo Research project "(Dis)Trust in medical technologies and medical support considering (severe) health decisions" About the project Trust as a major component of the acceptance of medical technologies is essential. Especially in severe health- and life-end-decisions, socio-ethical perspectives on lifelogging and medical technology are of paramount impact. Thereby, trust in technologies and decisions of medical personnel are of utmost importance for people who need assistance and care. Yet, trust concepts prevailing are concentrating on different usage contexts and lack of understanding which factors need to be considered in severe illness and under vital conditions. This thesis examines the extent to which trust in technology and medical support impacts technology acceptance and decisions in (severe) health situations. The dissertation will explore insights into trust building and the trust requirements in sensible user groups and usage contexts. Start date: October 2021 Expected end date: October 2024 Progress of the project After an initial review of relevant literature, a first qualitative study was carried out. This study was exploratory in nature and served the purpose of defining relevant trust factors for AAL technology to be validated and expanded in future studies. Consequently, a follow-up quantitative study was conducted after having developed an instrument that measures trust in AAL systems. Another qualitative study has been conducted which defines severe health decisions in the health care system and how that shapes trust perceptions of participants. This study employed a group interview, more precisely a focus group, and was carried out twice. The results will be compared and combined with those of the quantitative study. ESR2 is currently in the process of data collection regarding a comparison of trust in two different context, namely medical AAL technology and autonomous shuttle services. This will further define trust parameters in the AAL context by outlining which factors are context-dependent and context-independent and how these change in importance when applied to different technologies. Next, the project will concentrate on exploring influencing variables, such as technical affinity, previous experience, acceptance, and demographic factors in order to construct a cartography of trust in the medical context. Scientific publications Trustworthiness of Medical Technology in Severe Health Decisions: Findings in the Context of Ambient Assisted Living Sophia Hick Trustworthiness of Medical Technology in Severe Health Decisions: Findings in the Context of Ambient Assisted Living PhD Thesis. HCI-series, Apprimus. Aachen, Germany, 2025. How deep is your trust? A comparative user requirements’ analysis of automation in medical and mobility technologies Sophia Hick, Hannah Biermann, Martina Ziefle How deep is your trust? A comparative user requirements’ analysis of automation in medical and mobility technologies Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11, 77 (2024) Trust Conditions and Privacy Perceptions in the Acceptance of Ambient Technologies for Health-Related Purposes Wiktoria Wilkowska, Sophia Otten, Caterina Maidhof, Martina Ziefle Trust Conditions and Privacy Perceptions in the Acceptance of Ambient Technologies for Health-Related Purposes International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 40(22), 7784–7799, 2023. Understanding Trust in Automation: A Consideration of Human Factors Context Hannah Biermann, Sophia Otten, Martina Ziefle Understanding Trust in Automation: A Consideration of Human Factors Context In: Tareq Ahram and Christianne Falcão (eds) Usability and User Experience. AHFE (2023) International Conference. AHFE Open Access, vol 110. AHFE International, USA. http://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1003173 Paving the Way: Trust in Healthcare Systems as a Prerequisite for Technology Usage Sophia Otten, Julia Offermann, Martina Ziefle Paving the Way: Trust in Healthcare Systems as a Prerequisite for Technology Usage In International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 160-172). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. Trust in and Acceptance of Video-based AAL Technologies Sophia Otten, Wiktoria Wilkowska, Julia Offermann, Martina Ziefle Trust in and Acceptance of Video-based AAL Technologies In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health ICT4AWE - Volume 1, 126-134, Prague, Czech Republic, 2023 Exploring Trust Perceptions in the Medical Context: A Qualitative Approach to Outlining Determinants of Trust in AAL Technology Sophia Otten, Martina Ziefle Exploring Trust Perceptions in the Medical Context: A Qualitative Approach to Outlining Determinants of Trust in AAL Technology In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health - ICT4AWE, pages 244-253, 2022. About the ESR Sophia received a MScRes in Differential Psychology from the University of Edinburgh in 2021. She completed her BSc in Cognitive Neuropsychology, minoring in medical psychology, from Tilburg University 2020. In her Master’s thesis, she investigated stress on decision making with the mediating role of emotional intelligence in athletes. Contact information Sophia Hick Chair of Communication Science Institute of Language and communication studies Human-Computer Interaction Center RWTH Aachen University Campus Boulevard 57 52074 Aachen, Germany Email address: hick@comm.rwth-aachen.de
Trustworthiness of Medical Technology in Severe Health Decisions: Findings in the Context of Ambient Assisted Living Sophia Hick Trustworthiness of Medical Technology in Severe Health Decisions: Findings in the Context of Ambient Assisted Living PhD Thesis. HCI-series, Apprimus. Aachen, Germany, 2025.
How deep is your trust? A comparative user requirements’ analysis of automation in medical and mobility technologies Sophia Hick, Hannah Biermann, Martina Ziefle How deep is your trust? A comparative user requirements’ analysis of automation in medical and mobility technologies Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11, 77 (2024)
Trust Conditions and Privacy Perceptions in the Acceptance of Ambient Technologies for Health-Related Purposes Wiktoria Wilkowska, Sophia Otten, Caterina Maidhof, Martina Ziefle Trust Conditions and Privacy Perceptions in the Acceptance of Ambient Technologies for Health-Related Purposes International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 40(22), 7784–7799, 2023.
Understanding Trust in Automation: A Consideration of Human Factors Context Hannah Biermann, Sophia Otten, Martina Ziefle Understanding Trust in Automation: A Consideration of Human Factors Context In: Tareq Ahram and Christianne Falcão (eds) Usability and User Experience. AHFE (2023) International Conference. AHFE Open Access, vol 110. AHFE International, USA. http://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1003173
Paving the Way: Trust in Healthcare Systems as a Prerequisite for Technology Usage Sophia Otten, Julia Offermann, Martina Ziefle Paving the Way: Trust in Healthcare Systems as a Prerequisite for Technology Usage In International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 160-172). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
Trust in and Acceptance of Video-based AAL Technologies Sophia Otten, Wiktoria Wilkowska, Julia Offermann, Martina Ziefle Trust in and Acceptance of Video-based AAL Technologies In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health ICT4AWE - Volume 1, 126-134, Prague, Czech Republic, 2023
Exploring Trust Perceptions in the Medical Context: A Qualitative Approach to Outlining Determinants of Trust in AAL Technology Sophia Otten, Martina Ziefle Exploring Trust Perceptions in the Medical Context: A Qualitative Approach to Outlining Determinants of Trust in AAL Technology In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health - ICT4AWE, pages 244-253, 2022.