Usablity of a prototype mobile application for patient record keeping in the ward setting at the National Cancer Insitutite, Sri Lanka (NCISL)

Abstract

INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES: Applications of information technology have transformed health care workflow settings globally and locally. Authors designed a patient data capturing tool in the form of a mobile application, to be used in the ward setting at the National Cancer Institute of Sri Lanka, based on the requirements and expectations of medical officers. This study aimed at evaluating the usability of the mobile application. METHODS: A high-fidelity prototype of the mobile application was evaluated for usability with a three-part self-administered questionnaire, given to fifteen randomly selected medical officers in the ward setting. The size was determined by the literature on usability evaluations. It included the System Usability Scale® (SUS), demographics and other usability parameters. Data was analysed on Microsoft Excel and the SUS scale was analysed on author instructions. RESULTS: Of the 15 participants, seven were male, and eight were female. All aged between 30-40 years and all had more than four years of work experience. The prototype received an average SUS score of 68.3 within a range of 47.5 and 92.5. Application received SUS score of >70 (highest category in acceptability range) by eight participants. Among other usability parameters, legibility, user-friendliness, accuracy and relevance of the contents scored the highest. Features that need to be improved such as speed and error recovery were also identified. CONCLUSION: Usability evaluation provided a valuable feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the mobile application's design. As suggested by results, new mobile application is predicted to serve its purpose, with further modifications applied to the final release.