Lessons Learned From Developing Dashboards to Support Decision-Making for Community Opioid Response by Community...

Area of Science:

• Public Health Informatics
• Health Decision Support Systems
• Community Health Interventions

Background:

• Data dashboards are increasingly used in public health to present data on health risks and social determinants.
• While valuable for community decision-making, evidence on optimal dashboard design and use in public health is limited.
• Studies examining the complexity and heterogeneity of dashboards in community settings are scarce.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess community stakeholders' perceptions of the usability and use of data dashboards within the Communities That HEAL (CTH) intervention.
• To support decision-making for stakeholders responding to the opioid overdose crisis using CTH data dashboards.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods assessment was conducted with 62 users across 33 communities in 4 US states.
• The System Usability Scale (SUS) and semistructured group interviews informed by the Technology Adoption Model (TAM) were administered.
• Interviews focused on perceived usefulness, ease of use, intention to use, and contextual factors.

Main Results:

• The CTH dashboards demonstrated acceptable usability, with a grand mean SUS score of 73 (SD 4.6).
• Qualitative data revealed stakeholder perceptions of usefulness, ease of use, and intention to use, contextualized by TAM dimensions.
• Identified gaps in knowledge, design, and use can guide improvements in dashboard comprehension and application.

Conclusions:

• Prioritized gaps and lessons learned for improved data dashboard design and use were identified by national community stakeholders.
• The study offers insights from a novel application of SUS and TAM to inform the design of data dashboards for community decision-making.
• Findings highlight the need for enhanced dashboard design and comprehension to support public health efforts.