Cognition and Human Computer Interaction in Health and Biomedicine

The past few decades have produced a cumulative body of experiential and practical knowledge about user experience, adoption and implementation to guide future design work. However, knowledge solely based on practical experience or empirical studies are not adequate to account for the immense variety of health information technologies and the rich array of contexts that constitute the practice of medicine. Theoretical knowledge is needed to develop a more complete understanding of the user experience as well as to produce robust generalizations and sound design principles. In this chapter, we describe theories of cognition in the context of human-computer interaction (HCI) in healthcare domains. In the first sections, we review the family of theories subsumed by information-processing approach. The subsequent sections focus on theories of external cognition and distributed cognition, which greatly expand the focus of HCI framework for healthcare contexts. This chapter also examines related research investigations and draws implications for the science of HCI and foundations of design. Although cognitive theory cannot provide all of the needed insights, it remains a powerful tool for advancing knowledge and furthering the pursuit of science.