Biometric Measures of Cognitive and Emotional Responses in Cardiac Patients Navigating an E-Learning Platform on Medication Adherence: A Pilot Study

Introduction: Increasing medication adherence through educational interventions is an ongoing challenge in secondary prevention in cardiology. E-learning platforms addressing medication adherence flourished during the last decade. However, these platforms often offer static educational content or limited personalisation to the learner’s cognitive and emotional responses (CER). Further personalization of these platforms using biometric measures of CER could increase medication adherence in cardiac patients.
Aim: The aim of this pilot study was to appraise the validity of assessing biometric measures of CER in cardiac patients navigating an e-learning platform on medication adherence.
Methods: The study (ISRCTN12825237) was conducted in a tertiary cardiology center in Montreal, Canada. Participants (n=13) navigated in the platform for a 20-minute session. Videos of a virtual nurse presenting information on medication adherence were shown. To assess CER, we used a 14-channel electroencephalogram (EMOTIV EPOC ©) which provides a mean measure of 6 CER (interest, engagement, stress, excitement, focus, and relaxation) through the session. We contrasted these biometrics by using Pearson’s correlation coefficients with self–reported measures of the same CER obtained with visual analogue scales completed after the session.
Results: The lowest correlations were found for relaxation (r= 0.129; p=0.871) and focus (r=0.40; p=0.28) and the strongest ones for excitement (r= 0.86; p=0.003) and engagement (r=0.70; p=0.056).
Conclusion: Results show that participants easily remember excitement and engagement when exposed to e-learning. Future studies should consider using biometric measures of CER while developing an e-learning platform to optimize excitement and engagement in a somehow dry topic like medication adherence.