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Design and usability evaluation of a mobile-based-self-management application for caregivers of children with severe
Parissa Bagheri Toolaroud1,2, Ehsan Nabovati1,2, Mohammadreza Mobayen3
1Health Information Management Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
Insights
A new mobile app, the Burn application, was designed for caregivers of children with severe burns to aid in self-management post-discharge. Co-design with specialists and user evaluation confirmed its good usability and potential to meet patient and clinician needs.
Area of Science:
- Digital Health
- Pediatric Burn Care
- Mobile Health Applications
Background:
- Pediatric burns present significant long-term physical, psychological, and social challenges for families.
- Caregivers require accessible tools for effective self-management of pediatric burn patients after hospital discharge.
- Existing support systems may not adequately address the complex needs of managing severe pediatric burns at home.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and evaluate a mobile-based self-management application for caregivers of children with severe burns.
- To ensure the application meets the practical needs of caregivers and addresses common post-discharge challenges.
- To assess the usability and effectiveness of the developed mobile application.
Main Methods:
- Employed a participatory design technique involving three phases: requirements determination (Delphi technique), low-fidelity prototype evaluation (focus group), and high-fidelity prototype development and evaluation.
- Developed the Burn application using the JAVA programming language.
- Evaluated usability through cognitive walkthroughs and testing with 28 caregivers, 8 IT experts, and 2 general surgeons.
Main Results:
- Caregivers reported significant post-discharge challenges in infection control, wound care, and physical activity management.
- Key features identified as crucial include user registration, educational materials, caregiver-clinician communication, chat box, appointment booking, and secure login.
- The Burn application achieved good usability scores, ranging from 7.92 ± 0.238 to 8.10 ± 0.103.
Conclusions:
- Co-designing health applications with healthcare specialists is effective in meeting both patient and specialist needs, ensuring program utility.
- Involving end-users in the evaluation process, including those not part of the design team, significantly enhances application usability.
- The developed Burn application demonstrates potential as a valuable tool for improving self-management in pediatric burn care.
Abstract:
Paediatric burns are a major public health issue because of long-term physical, psychological and social consequences and the high cost of treatment. The aim of this study was to design and evaluate a mobile-based self-management application for caregivers of children with severe burns. A participatory design technique was employed to develop the Burn application, which included three main phases: the determination of application requirements, the design and evaluation of the low-fidelity prototype, and the design and evaluation of the high-fidelity prototypes. In the first phase, application requirements were determined via validated paper questionnaires using the Delphi technique. In the second step, a low-fidelity prototype was prepared using conceptual models and evaluated through a focus group with specialists. Seven specialists reviewed the application and evaluated how this prototype meets functional requirements and objectives. The third phase was performed in three stages. First, the high-fidelity prototype was designed and developed by the JAVA programming language. Second, a cognitive walk-through was carried out to show how users can interact with the mobile application and how it works. Third, this program was installed on the mobile phones of 28 caregivers of burned children, eight IT experts, and two general surgeries, and the prototype's usability was evaluated. In the present study, most caregivers of children with burns stated that after discharge, they face problems regarding infection control and wound care (4.07) and how to perform physical activity (4.12). User registration, educational materials, caregiver-clinician communication, chat box, and appointment booking, safe login were the most important characteristic of the Burn application. Mean usability evaluation scores were in the range of 7.92 ± 0.238 to 8.10 ± 0.103, which is considered at a "good" level. From the Burn program design experience, it can be concluded that co-design with health care specialists can significantly support and meet the specialists' and patients' needs and ensure the program's usefulness. In addition, application evaluation by users involved and not involved in the application design process can help enhance usability.
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