Development of a Weighted Well-Being Assessment Mobile App for Trauma Affected Communities: A Usability Study

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Mobile Health

Background:

• A mobile well-being application was developed for a trauma-affected community (TAC).
• Usability testing is crucial for optimizing digital health tools, especially in vulnerable populations.
• Health Information Management (HIM) professionals play a key role in developing and evaluating health technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the usability of a well-being mobile app in a trauma-affected community.
• To identify user preferences for mobile application design elements.
• To evaluate the impact of UI/UX refinements on user satisfaction and task performance.

Main Methods:

• A two-phase usability study was conducted with social workers in a TAC.
• Phase 1 involved initial task completion, followed by app refinements based on feedback.
• Phase 2 re-tested the refined app, collecting data via task performance and the Computer Systems Usability Questionnaire (CSUQ).

Main Results:

• Users preferred darker foregrounds, lighter backgrounds, larger fonts, and larger UI components.
• Statistically significant improvements were observed in page navigation time, logout efficiency, and item selection.
• The Computer Systems Usability Questionnaire (CSUQ) indicated high user satisfaction with UI positioning and size adjustments.

Conclusions:

• Mobile app usability improvements, particularly in UI design, significantly enhance user satisfaction and efficiency.
• Tailoring digital health tools to the specific needs of trauma-affected communities is essential.
• HIM professionals are vital in the design, development, and usability assessment of health and wellness technologies for community-based interventions.