Health providers' perceptions of novel approaches to visualizing integrated health information.

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated the design of three novel visualization techniques for integrated health information with health care providers in older adult care. Through focus groups, we identified generalizable themes related to the visualization and interpretation of health information. Using these themes we address challenges with visualizing integrated health information and provide recommendations for designers.

METHODS

We recruited ten health care providers to participate in three focus groups. We applied a qualitative descriptive approach to code and extract themes related to the visualization of graphical displays.

RESULTS

We identified a set of four common themes across focus groups related to: 1) Trust in data for decision-making; 2) Perceived level of detail for visualization (subthemes: holistic, individual components); 3) Cognitive issues (subthemes: training and experience; cognitive overload; contrast); and 4) Application of visual displays. Furthermore, recommendations are provided as part of the iterative design process for the visualizations.

CONCLUSIONS

Data visualization of health information is an important component of care, impacting both the accuracy and speed of decision making. There are both functional and cognitive elements to consider during the development of appropriate visualizations that integrate different components of health.