Let's stay in touch: sharing photos for restoring social connectedness between rehabilitants, friends and family

  • Authors:
  • Margit Biemans;Betsy van Dijk;Pavan Dadlani;Aart van Halteren

  • Affiliations:
  • Novay, Enschede, Netherlands;University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands;Philips Research, Eindhoven, Netherlands;Philips Research, Eindhoven, Netherlands

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 11th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on Computers and accessibility
  • Year:
  • 2009

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Abstract

A case study on the use of an existing photo sharing application in a spinal cord lesion rehabilitation centre is presented. The study focuses on enhancing social connectedness through sharing photos between rehabilitants and their families and friends. Four rehabilitants participated in this study for 6-7 weeks. Most photos sent related to sharing things in everyday life and keeping the rehabilitant informed about regular events. The combination of interviews and content analysis reveals that only a minority of the photos lead to follow-up communication about the contents of the photos. Rehabilitants were positively surprised how spontaneous photo sharing simplified the way they could reconnect to their friends and family, without the immediate need or obligation to engage in a (phone) conversation.