Content validation and usability of a chatbot of guidelines for wound dressing

The growing demand from patients with wounds from various causes has significantly challenged primary care nurses. A chatbot, with duly validated evidence-based content, can assist both nurses and patients in managing care. This work describes the development process of such a chatbot (BOTCURATIVO) that aims to help the treatment of wounds by non-specialists, by giving guidelines about the recommended wound dressing procedures for each type of wound.

Methodological research was carried out in three phases. The first one corresponded to the validation of the script's content through a panel of enterostomal therapist nurses, who evaluated the domains and items of the chatbot script. Data analysis was performed using the Content Validity Index by individual level and scale level (≥ 0.80). To verify the agreement between the evaluators, the Kappa test was used. In the second phase, the chatbot was developed, using GOOGLE'S DIALOGFLOW platform. Finally, in the third phase, the chatbot's usability was analyzed using the System Usability Scale (SUS), by 17 users, 8 of them being patients with chronic wounds, 5 caregivers of people with acute and chronic wounds and 4 nurses.

The established domains achieved excellent suitability, relevance and representativeness criteria, all above 90 %; the content validity index per level of scale reached 0.97 and 0.82 by the methods of average and universal agreement, respectively, with excellent agreement between the evaluators (Kappa value: 0.83). The global usability score was 80.1.

The script developed and incorporated into the chatbot prototype achieved a satisfactory level of content validity. The usability of the chatbot was considered good, adding to the credibility of the device.