An evaluation of the usage patterns and competence in dealing with automated delivery of services in an acquired brain injury sample

This study explored the competence of a group of patients with acquired brain injury (ABI) and a control sample in their usage of automated service delivery machines. Ninety brain injured participants (30 mild, 30 moderate, and 30 severe as classified on the basis of their levels of functional impairment using the Environmental Status Scale) and 30 non-impaired participants completed a questionnaire measure of automated machine usage. The results indicated that the ABI samples consistently confirmed they had difficulty in dealing with automated transport ticketing machines, automatic teller machines, and automated telephone answering and responding devices. The major impediment to successful performance in the ABI groups was difficulty in understanding and remembering the instructions on each task. In the second phase of the study, half of these participants were randomly selected and observed in their actual use of the automated machines. The results indicated that the use of automated machines decreased with severity of functional impairment and that competency with automated machines declined with severity of functional impairment. The results also indicate that self-awareness of competency deteriorated with severity of functional impairment.