Usability Testing of Five Fentanyl Test Strip Brands in Real-World Settings.

Area of Science:

• Drug checking
• Public health
• Forensic science

Background:

• Fentanyl test strips (FTS) are adapted from laboratory forensic tools for point-of-consumption drug checking.
• Illegally manufactured fentanyl detection using FTS presents usability challenges for people who use drugs (PWUD).

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the real-world usability of five fentanyl test strip brands among PWUD.
• To identify specific usability challenges and areas for improvement in FTS design.

Main Methods:

• Usability testing of five FTS brands was conducted by six researchers.
• A REDCap survey evaluated ease of use and System Usability Scale (SUS) scores before and after testing a prepared sample.

Main Results:

• DanceSafe scored highest in usability (SUS > 68), while Dosetest scored lowest (SUS < 68).
• Common challenges included difficulty opening envelopes, complex instructions, and missing essential testing resources (water, timer, internet).

Conclusions:

• FTS are complex systems not fully optimized for real-world drug checking by PWUD.
• Improved FTS design considering user resource limitations and human factors is crucial for wider adoption and accurate testing.