Mobile Media in Critical Situations: Insights into Perceptions of Potential Users and Participants of a Usability Test

Stehr, Paula ; Schulze, Annett; Ermel, Lyn; Mueller, Patricia; Reifegerste, Doreen und Rossmann, Constanze (2025): Mobile Media in Critical Situations: Insights into Perceptions of Potential Users and Participants of a Usability Test. 75th Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association, Denver, Colorado, USA, 12.-16. Juni 2025.

Abstract

Mobile media have become increasingly important for informing people about health topics and even assisting them in critical situations. Although some incidental observations regarding the usage of mobile media for handling critical situations exist, there is a lack of research on their potentials and limitations. We link knowledge on behavior in emergency situations with theories on the acceptance and use of mobile media to comprehensibly examine potentials and limitations of mobile media in critical situations. As a use case, we focus on caregivers’ handling of child injuries and combine two methodological approaches to 1) evaluate perceptions of different potential user groups in focus group interviews (n = 42) and 2) examine actual use experiences in a usability study (n = 42). Based on the results of the multi-study project, we provide a framework for examining the use of mobile media in critical situations and derive practical implications for the design of emergency apps.

• Dokumententyp: Konferenzbeitrag (Vortrag)
• Keywords: mobile apps; mHealth; critical situations; usability; perceived usefulness; ease of use; Konferenz ICA 2025
• Fakultät: Sozialwissenschaften > Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienforschung (IfKW)
• Themengebiete: 300 Sozialwissenschaften > 380 Handel, Kommunikation, Verkehr
• Sprache: Englisch