Presentation
MDD3 - Are you prepared for Generation Alpha? Considering the needs of the emerging pediatric population
DescriptionConsidering the role of generational cohorts is important when examining the future of healthcare. While the discussion around generational effects on individuals can introduce negative biases and assumptions to discourse, it is important to recognize that the foremost benefit of discussing generational impact can help researchers understand consumer behaviors and changes, specifically lifecycle, period, and cohort effects . A lifecycle effect is how an individual may perceive the world based on their current stage in life. A period effect is how an external event could disrupt an individual’s outlook on the world. Finally, a cohort effect is an attribute within a cohort that has changed to be different from previous generations, and it is staying different .
In this presentation, we will discuss the importance of including pediatrics as a group in human factors (HF) testing. Pediatric populations in the United States include individuals in the Generation Alpha cohort, who have experienced massive shifts in lifecycle, period, and cohort effects in comparison to their predecessor generations, especially in terms of using digital technologies. Thus, we will not only consider the importance of implications from a regulatory perspective, such as minimum FDA requirements, but also discuss what the implications of generational behaviors may have on the impact of product design. Furthermore, we will address what it means to not only test this group of users, but also how to adequately design for their needs, and how in doing so they can address compliance issues that have been observed in older populations.
Pediatric patient groups are essential for the development of pharmaceutical, medical device, and digital aids. This cohort is still in the developmental stage of their life where they are exploring and understanding the world around them. Moreover, this cohort’s childhood years have been heavily influenced by the spread of digital technologies through their school-life, home-life, and social-life.
However, when designing products and therapies for pediatric patient groups, it is often viewed as a checkbox for regulatory requirement; but simply including pediatric patients in HF studies does not ensure that the best therapies for future generations are being designed. Oftentimes, when a product is designed for pediatric usage, it is designed for an adult population first and the pediatric presentation is a secondary consideration. Consequently, this means that the risk mitigations are adapted from an older population’s understanding and perspective, and the impact of a pediatric patient’s lifecycle, period, and cohort effects are not front and center when designing for pediatric populations. While this may be a solution in the short-term for pediatric patients—as adult caregivers are responsible for the charge of a pediatric patient —it is a temporary solution to long-term developments that will arise as pediatric patients grow to be responsible for their own care. Further compounding this issue is that risk mitigations through the design of printed instructional materials, that are applied for the current generation of adults, can be ineffective. Even the best designed set of printed, physical instructions is ineffective in instances where the user refuses to interact and read them. As an industry, we need to design and implement patient support materials that can best support the next generation of patients and caregivers.
Generation Alpha will be graduating high school within the next 4-5 years. Not only is it predicted that Generation Alpha will be the largest generation in history by 2025, but industries worldwide are already bracing for the impact of an overall population decline. While the childhoods of Generation Alpha in the United States have been influenced by touchscreen tablet computers, remote classrooms, and a proliferation of on-demand services (whether it be through search engines, streaming services, or connectivity to peers), their adult lives will be impacted by the reduction of the size of the workforce as older generations retire in advance of their adult lives in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. This means that the Generation Alpha cohort has not only fundamentally experienced the world in their childhood years through a digital lens, but as they continue to age, they will be burdened with navigating the world as reducing worker populations impact the job market. Generation Alpha will need increased support from digital technologies because it is what they grew up with, and these technologies will be needed to support a reduction in the human workforce that they will experience. With the continued emergence of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and extended reality (XR) technologies, Generation Alpha is on the precipice of highly tech savvy individuals taking responsibility for their own health and therapy related technologies.
In addition to the responsibility of competent care, it is also important to recognize the role of access to information. Generation Alpha has been able to access their desired content at the press of a touchscreen. Pharmaceutical and device manufacturers should be at the forefront in the development of digital tools that are associated with therapy. If the healthcare industry is not providing meaningful input into the design experience of digital tools, then other industries will set design standards for user experiences when interacting with content on various platforms. Manufacturers of medical devices and pharmaceutical products need to meet these users where they are to provide safety critical information for effective therapy. The best-case scenario is that this new generation of users will seek out a product from a competitor that has a more accessible design for digital components to meet their therapeutic and health learning journey. The worst-case scenario is that this new generation of users will seek out third-party generated content to help them understand a manufacturer’s product and its health implications, which introduces.
It's clear that even in the best-case scenario, a manufacturer that does not plan to implement HF design for pediatric patients’ needs and learning habits is going to fall behind their competitors that implement necessary design factors. It is key to design for and meet user expectations, and this starts with an understanding that Generation Alpha will begin to impact the way that adults expect their therapy in the very near future.
In this presentation, we will discuss the importance of including pediatrics as a group in human factors (HF) testing. Pediatric populations in the United States include individuals in the Generation Alpha cohort, who have experienced massive shifts in lifecycle, period, and cohort effects in comparison to their predecessor generations, especially in terms of using digital technologies. Thus, we will not only consider the importance of implications from a regulatory perspective, such as minimum FDA requirements, but also discuss what the implications of generational behaviors may have on the impact of product design. Furthermore, we will address what it means to not only test this group of users, but also how to adequately design for their needs, and how in doing so they can address compliance issues that have been observed in older populations.
Pediatric patient groups are essential for the development of pharmaceutical, medical device, and digital aids. This cohort is still in the developmental stage of their life where they are exploring and understanding the world around them. Moreover, this cohort’s childhood years have been heavily influenced by the spread of digital technologies through their school-life, home-life, and social-life.
However, when designing products and therapies for pediatric patient groups, it is often viewed as a checkbox for regulatory requirement; but simply including pediatric patients in HF studies does not ensure that the best therapies for future generations are being designed. Oftentimes, when a product is designed for pediatric usage, it is designed for an adult population first and the pediatric presentation is a secondary consideration. Consequently, this means that the risk mitigations are adapted from an older population’s understanding and perspective, and the impact of a pediatric patient’s lifecycle, period, and cohort effects are not front and center when designing for pediatric populations. While this may be a solution in the short-term for pediatric patients—as adult caregivers are responsible for the charge of a pediatric patient —it is a temporary solution to long-term developments that will arise as pediatric patients grow to be responsible for their own care. Further compounding this issue is that risk mitigations through the design of printed instructional materials, that are applied for the current generation of adults, can be ineffective. Even the best designed set of printed, physical instructions is ineffective in instances where the user refuses to interact and read them. As an industry, we need to design and implement patient support materials that can best support the next generation of patients and caregivers.
Generation Alpha will be graduating high school within the next 4-5 years. Not only is it predicted that Generation Alpha will be the largest generation in history by 2025, but industries worldwide are already bracing for the impact of an overall population decline. While the childhoods of Generation Alpha in the United States have been influenced by touchscreen tablet computers, remote classrooms, and a proliferation of on-demand services (whether it be through search engines, streaming services, or connectivity to peers), their adult lives will be impacted by the reduction of the size of the workforce as older generations retire in advance of their adult lives in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. This means that the Generation Alpha cohort has not only fundamentally experienced the world in their childhood years through a digital lens, but as they continue to age, they will be burdened with navigating the world as reducing worker populations impact the job market. Generation Alpha will need increased support from digital technologies because it is what they grew up with, and these technologies will be needed to support a reduction in the human workforce that they will experience. With the continued emergence of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and extended reality (XR) technologies, Generation Alpha is on the precipice of highly tech savvy individuals taking responsibility for their own health and therapy related technologies.
In addition to the responsibility of competent care, it is also important to recognize the role of access to information. Generation Alpha has been able to access their desired content at the press of a touchscreen. Pharmaceutical and device manufacturers should be at the forefront in the development of digital tools that are associated with therapy. If the healthcare industry is not providing meaningful input into the design experience of digital tools, then other industries will set design standards for user experiences when interacting with content on various platforms. Manufacturers of medical devices and pharmaceutical products need to meet these users where they are to provide safety critical information for effective therapy. The best-case scenario is that this new generation of users will seek out a product from a competitor that has a more accessible design for digital components to meet their therapeutic and health learning journey. The worst-case scenario is that this new generation of users will seek out third-party generated content to help them understand a manufacturer’s product and its health implications, which introduces.
It's clear that even in the best-case scenario, a manufacturer that does not plan to implement HF design for pediatric patients’ needs and learning habits is going to fall behind their competitors that implement necessary design factors. It is key to design for and meet user expectations, and this starts with an understanding that Generation Alpha will begin to impact the way that adults expect their therapy in the very near future.
Event Type
Poster Presentation
TimeMonday, March 254:45pm - 6:15pm CDT
LocationSalon C
Digital Health
Simulation and Education
Hospital Environments
Medical and Drug Delivery Devices
Patient Safety Research and Initiatives