Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Med Decis Making. 2024 Aug;44(6):661-673. doi: 10.1177/0272989X241263040. Epub 2024 Jul 26.
Icon arrays have been shown to be an effective method for communicating medical risk information. However, in practice, icon arrays used to visualize personal risks often differ in the type and color of the icons. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of icon type and color on the perception and recall of cardiovascular risk, as little is known about how color affects the perception of icon arrays.
A total of 866 participants aged 40 to 90 years representative of the German population in terms of gender and age completed an online experiment. Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects design, participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental groups. They received their hypothetical 10-year cardiovascular risk using an icon array that varied by icon type (smiley v. person) and color (black/white v. red/yellow). We measured risk perception, emotional response, intentions of taking action to reduce the risk (e.g., increasing one's physical activity), risk recall, and graph evaluation/trustworthiness, as well as numeracy and graphical literacy.
Icon arrays using person icons were evaluated more positively. There was no effect of icons or color on risk perception, emotional response, intentions of taking action to reduce the risk, or trustworthiness of the graph. While more numerate/graphical literate participants were more likely to correctly recall the presented risk estimate, icon type and color did not influence the probability of correct recall.
Differences in the perception of the tested icon arrays were rather small, suggesting that they may be equally suitable for communicating medical risks. Further research on the robustness of these results across other colors, icons, and risk domains could add to guidelines on the design of visual aids.
The use of different icons and colors did not influence the perception and the probability of recalling the 10-year cardiovascular risk, the emotional response, or the intentions to reduce the presented risk.Icon arrays with person icons were evaluated more positively.There was no evidence to suggest that the effectiveness of the studied icon arrays varied based on individuals' levels of numerical or graphical literacy, nor did it differ between people with or without a history of CVD or on medication for an increased CVD risk.
图标数组已被证明是一种有效的传达医学风险信息的方法。然而，在实践中，用于可视化个人风险的图标数组在图标的类型和颜色上往往存在差异。本研究旨在探讨图标的类型和颜色对心血管风险的感知和回忆的影响，因为人们对颜色如何影响图标数组的感知知之甚少。
共有 866 名年龄在 40 至 90 岁之间的参与者，在性别和年龄方面代表了德国人口，他们完成了一项在线实验。参与者采用 2×2 被试间设计，随机分配到 4 个实验组中的 1 个。他们使用图标数组来接收他们假设的 10 年心血管风险，图标数组的变量包括图标类型（笑脸 v. 人）和颜色（黑/白 v. 红/黄）。我们测量了风险感知、情绪反应、采取行动降低风险的意图（例如，增加身体活动）、风险回忆和图表评估/可信度，以及计算能力和图表读写能力。
使用人物图标组成的图标数组得到了更积极的评价。图标或颜色对风险感知、情绪反应、采取行动降低风险的意图或图表的可信度均没有影响。虽然计算能力和图表读写能力较高的参与者更有可能正确回忆呈现的风险估计，但图标类型和颜色并不影响正确回忆的概率。
测试图标数组的感知差异相当小，这表明它们可能同样适合传达医学风险。在其他颜色、图标和风险领域对这些结果的稳健性进行进一步研究，可以为视觉辅助工具的设计指南提供补充。
不同图标和颜色的使用并未影响对 10 年心血管风险的感知和回忆的概率、情绪反应或降低呈现风险的意图。使用人物图标的图标数组得到了更积极的评价。没有证据表明所研究的图标数组的有效性因个体的数值或图表读写能力而有所不同，也没有因是否有 CVD 病史或是否服用增加 CVD 风险的药物而有所不同。
