https://researchopenworld.com/usability-testing-of-the-online-stress-management-intervention-stream-for-cancer-patients-results-and-implementations/#

Abstract

Background: Online health interventions are becoming increasingly frequent. However, to prove effective and satisfy the specific needs of cancer patients, the standardized steps of development are crucial. This includes structured usability testing to identify potential usability issues in the patient-specific context early during the development process of a new program. Methods: Usability of a newly developed online stress management program was prospectively assessed in patients with solid tumors undergoing systemic treatment. In an academic computer-lab facility, each patient was asked to fulfill 16 tasks, which covered key components of the program including website navigation, login-in to secure area, filling-in forms, accessing audio files, and contacting the trial team. Usability problems during these tasks were identified via the think-aloud method and video recording and categorized. General usability was tested with the System Usability Scale (SUS). Results: A total of 165 tasks from 11 patients were analyzed. Overall usability was high (mean System Usability Scale score 83.6) exceeding the pre-defined cut-off of 70. Participants solved 97% (160/165) of all tasks, the majority (76%) independently. A total of 122 specific usability problems were identified, predominantly concerning website functionality (50.8%) and navigation (29.5%). Conclusions: Structured usability testing of a novel online intervention in the target population of cancer patients allowed for identification and subsequent correction of a significant number of usability problems. This crucial step allowed for a patient-friendly, self-explanatory online program with enhanced user-specific functionality, navigation and terminology before embarking on the subsequent randomized trial.