In today's digital age, mobile apps have revolutionized the way we collect data and improve healthcare outcomes. However, developing an effective app requires careful consideration of user experience to ensure that it is usable and efficient for end-users. In this study, we explore the development and usability testing of a mobile app designed for process evaluation in healthcare.
Background
Process evaluation plays a crucial role in ensuring that interventions are implemented effectively and efficiently. Mobile apps offer a convenient and less burdensome way to collect data in real-time from participants. However, research-driven apps often overlook user experience, leading to poor adoption rates and limited data quality. Usability testing is essential to identify gaps between researchers', developers', and users' mental models of what an efficient, effective, and satisfying product looks like.
Objective
This study aimed to develop a mobile app for collecting process evaluation metrics in an intervention study with healthcare workers. The app's design was refined through feedback at multiple stages, and usage was quantified based on workers' overall adoption of the app and its specific functions.
Methods
We developed an app to evaluate the Center for Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace Healthy Workplace Participatory Program, which trains teams to develop solutions for workforce health obstacles. Labor-management health and safety committee members, program champions, and managers were invited to use the app. An accompanying website was available for team facilitators. The app's 4 functions included meeting creation, post-meeting surveys, project time logs, and chat messages.
Results
In stage 1 of pilot testing, student testers assessed the first functional prototype by performing task scenarios expected from end-users. Feedback was used to fix issues and inform further development. In stage 2, the app was offered to all study participants; volunteers completed task scenarios and provided feedback at deployment. End-user data for 18 months after deployment were summarized and compared by user characteristics.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that occupational health researchers developing a mobile app should budget for early and iterative testing to find and fix problems or usability issues, which can increase eventual product use and prevent potential gaps in data. By prioritizing app user experience, we can optimize the effectiveness of process evaluation in healthcare interventions.
Target keyword: app user experience