Introducing touchscreens to black and ethnic minority groups--a report of processes and issues in the Three Cities...

There is a need for people to have access to health information but this may not be readily available for some black and ethnic minority groups living in England. This study aims to improve access to health information for ethnic minority groups by providing this in their own language, in an audio and visual format through a touchscreen computer. The study was led by health promotion and public health workers informed by advisory panels of representatives from local black and ethnic minority groups in the cities of Nottingham, Sheffield and Leicester. Discussion within the advisory panels and local epidemiological data helped to identify groups to be targeted and priority health issues to be addressed. Other issues covered during development included interface design, language translation and identification of accessible locations. A number of problems were addressed in establishing appropriate touchscreen facilities, mainly relating to producing information in an electronic format for multiple languages and populations not necessarily computer-literate. Three touchscreens, containing information on 10 health topics, translated into five languages are currently installed, one in each city. They are being rotated through a series of locations including a library, GP practice, and a temple. Their use, and satisfaction with use, is being evaluated over a 2-year period, by statistical analysis of computer logs and the collection of qualitative information by bi-lingual interviewers with users, over an 18-month period. Health information can be made available for ethnic minority groups even if they are unable to read their mother tongue. Touchscreens appear to be a suitable medium for achieving this.