Hongshuo Guo
Design and Production of Animations to Enhance Stroke Patients' Engagement in Task-Specific Training
Stroke is a leading global health issue, with a high disability rate, and is the second most common cause of death worldwide. Stroke rehabilitation aims to restore motor function and promote independence, necessitating clearly defined recovery goals, high-intensity practice, multidisciplinary care, and task-specific training (TST). However, professional support is often inadequate, and poor engagement in rehabilitation is common, resulting in less favourable outcomes.
Research highlights that health literacy and the quality of therapeutic relationships are key factors in patient engagement. Patients' knowledge significantly influences their perceptions of rehabilitation, with many citing a lack of understanding as a barrier to full engagement with the training process. Evidence further suggests that older adults respond more positively to animated health literacy communication compared to text, images, or diagrams, with animations generating favourable emotional responses. Animated representations of doctors have been shown to increase therapy enjoyment and treatment adherence, surpassing the effectiveness of interactions with human doctors. Thus, it is hypothesised that animation techniques can enhance patient engagement in stroke rehabilitation.
Hongshuo’s research question is: How can animation support stroke patients in their educational and therapeutic relationships to engage more effectively in TST? The study aims to design and create animations that will encourage stroke patients to engage with TST within the framework of an educational and therapeutic relationship. The research will involve interviews with stroke patients and physiotherapists to identify relevant sessions and design criteria for using animation in TST. These findings will inform the development of an animatic prototype and final animations, which will be tested by stroke patients and physiotherapists to evaluate its effectiveness. Hongshuo’s research is part of a broader project aimed at developing a mobile application (app) for stroke rehabilitation, intended for use by both physiotherapists and patients. The project is supported by Dr Nada Signal and Dr Gemma Alder from the physiotherapy department at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). The animations produced as part of this research will be integrated into the app to facilitate patient engagement with TST.
Supervisors
Qualifications
2017 Master of Fine Arts, Tongji University
2010 Bachelor of Arts (Animation), Awarded with Distinction, Tongji University