User study of a Spanish-language ClinicalTrials.gov prototype system

We conducted a user study of monolingual and bilingual Spanish-speaking consumers (n=36) to evaluate a Spanish-language ClinicalTrials.gov prototype. The prototype leverages an existing English-only consumer health resource by combining (1) Spanish-English cross-language information retrieval (CLIR) and (2) English-Spanish document display techniques. We collected user feedback on expectations, usability, and satisfaction. Preliminary results suggest improved online information access by Spanish-speakers. The goal is to develop a general approach for other systems and languages.