VIDDE: Visualizations for Helping People with COPD Interpret Dyspnea During Exercise

People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience dyspnea and dyspnea-related distress and anxiety (DDA) upon physical exertion. When performing supervised exercise, measurement of physiological data, such as heart rate (HR) and blood oxygen saturation (O2sat), are commonly used for safety, but the impacts of such monitoring on their perceptions and behaviour have not previously been studied. This paper investigates the effect of presenting live physiological data to people with COPD during exercise with a focus on its impact on perceptions of dyspnea intensity (DI) and DDA. Informed by formative interviews with 15 people with COPD, we design VIDDE, an exercise companion tool visualizing live data from a pulse oximeter, and evaluate its effect on DI and DDA through case studies involving 3 participants with COPD exercising at their homes. We also conducted design probe interviews with 6 more participants with COPD to investigate their needs and design requirements for an exercise-companion application that featured physiological data monitoring. Our results suggest that presenting live physiological data during exercise is of value, and can contribute to reduced DDA, better understanding of breathlessness sensations, while providing sufficient reassurance to encourage physical activity.