BACKGROUND
Patient experience at pediatric emergency department (PED) remain suboptimal. As an attempt to support the patients and their families before, during and after visit at PED, we have developed InfoKids, a mobile application guided by the patient centered care principle.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study is to assess the usability of the Infokids mobile application.
METHODS
The app was assessed through an in lab evaluation were participants had to execute 7 tasks of a scenario leading them from the installation of the app till the reception of a diagnostic sheet linked to the care episode. All interactions were recorded and usability flaws were analyzed in regards with usability criteria. A system usability scale questionnaire was also filled by the participant to compare our system with other.
RESULTS
A total of 17 parents, 15 women and 2 men (ages 26-53) participated in the study. Overall, they were mostly satisfied with the navigation, layout and interaction design of the app. Most of the problems encountered were related with navigation, especially difficulties for some participants to find the location of the action to perform.
CONCLUSIONS
empowering patient through mobile application supporting care processes has the potential to improve both care efficiency and to release pressure on healthcare system. The success of these applications is however linked to an optimal user experience that can be improved through usability testing.
Usability testing of a Patient-Centered Mobile Health App for Supporting and Guiding the Pediatric Emergency Department Patient Journey: A Mixed-Methods Study (Preprint)
