663 Assessing the ease of use of a digital assistant for wound care instruction delivery across patient demographics

Written wound care instructions for dermatological procedures often pose challenges to those with visual deficits, low health literacy, and lack of physical dexterity. We sought to address these barriers to patient self-care with the development of a digital assistant for wound care instruction delivery. As technology is often perceived to create obstacles for some patients, particularly older adults, this study aims to identify groups which may have challenges with the incorporation of technology into their care. Instructions for a 13-step dressing-change protocol were narrated by a computer application to Mohs Micrographic Surgery patients. Participants completed the dressing change on a simulated wound. Total protocol completion time and total number of questions asked during the session were recorded for each participant and used as a measure of difficulty in utilization of the program. Fifty-six participants completed the protocol in 2021. The age range was 40 to >89 years, with an average age of 72. The participants were 63.5% male. The average number of questions asked during the protocol was 1.70 and the average session length was 5.92 minutes. Univariate linear regression showed no significant association between age and number of questions (p=0.96) or between age and protocol length (p=0.094). Additionally, Welch’s 2-sample t-test found no significant differences between males and females for number of questions (p=0.96) or protocol length (p=0.91). The low average question number and session length indicates that patients can effectively perform a dressing-change protocol with the digital assistant. While the study is limited by a small sample size, these results suggest that a digital wound care delivery device would be tolerated equally by patients, regardless of age or gender.