Centre for Patient Reported Outcome Research, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
Qual Life Res. 2020 Feb;29(2):325-333. doi: 10.1007/s11136-019-02329-z. Epub 2019 Oct 18.
Recent advances in information technology and improved access to the internet have led to a rapid increase in the adoption and ownership of electronic devices such as touch screen smartphones and tablet computers. This has also led to a renewed interest in the field of digital health also referred to as telehealth or electronic health (eHealth). There is now a drive to collect these PROs electronically using ePRO systems.
However, the user interfaces of ePRO systems need to be adequately assessed to ensure they are not only fit for purpose but also acceptable to patients who are the end users. Usability testing is a technique that involves the testing of systems, products or websites with participants drawn from the target population. Usability testing can assist ePRO developers in the evaluation of ePRO user interface. The complexity of ePRO systems; stage of development; metrics to measure; and the use of scenarios, moderators and appropriate sample sizes are key methodological issues to consider when planning usability tests.
The findings from usability testing may facilitate the improvement of ePRO systems making them more usable and acceptable to end users. This may in turn improve the adoption of ePRO systems post-implementation. This article highlights the key methodological issues to consider and address when planning usability testing of ePRO systems.
信息技术的最新进展以及互联网接入的改善，导致人们越来越多地采用和拥有触摸屏智能手机和平板电脑等电子设备。这也使得人们对数字健康领域（也称为远程医疗或电子健康 (eHealth)）重新产生了兴趣。现在，人们希望使用电子病历报告系统 (ePRO 系统) 来电子采集这些 PRO 数据。
然而，需要充分评估 ePRO 系统的用户界面，以确保其不仅符合目的，而且也能被最终用户（患者）接受。可用性测试是一种技术，涉及对来自目标人群的参与者进行系统、产品或网站的测试。可用性测试可以帮助电子病历报告系统开发者评估电子病历报告系统的用户界面。在规划可用性测试时，需要考虑电子病历报告系统的复杂性、开发阶段、要衡量的指标、使用场景、主持人以及适当的样本量等关键方法问题。
可用性测试的结果可以促进电子病历报告系统的改进，使其更符合最终用户的使用需求和接受程度。这反过来可能会提高电子病历报告系统实施后的采用率。本文重点介绍了在规划电子病历报告系统的可用性测试时需要考虑和解决的关键方法问题。
