Müller Patricia, Schulze Annett, Geppert Johanna, Menning Axel, Brand Fabian, Stehr Paula, Reifegerste Doreen, Rossmann Constanze
Department Risk Communication, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany.
Department Biological Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany.
Digit Health. 2025 Aug 6;11:20552076251362753. doi: 10.1177/20552076251362753. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec.
Unintentional childhood injuries such as poisonings are prevalent among young children and can have severe or even fatal consequences. As most of these injuries happen in and around the home, parents and other caregivers need to be prepared to prevent and deal with them. mHealth apps are promising for this, since regular smartphone use is widespread. This study evaluated the German app "Vergiftungsunfälle bei Kindern" ().
Parents ( = 21) and temporary caregivers ( = 21) of children under the age of seven were recruited for a mixed-methods study, comprising a remote usability test (thinking aloud, observation data and click protocols), focused interviews and the System Usability Scale (SUS).
The mean usability score was 77.6 ± 15.7 out of 100. Most participants reported they trust the app and would use it in specific situations. The general app structure was perceived as clear. Perceived usefulness was facilitated by education on childhood injuries and contact to the poison control center, whereas it was impaired by the perception that the app impedes learning and rapid action in critical situations. Major obstacles included a reduced comprehensibility in terms of text design, visualizations, and complex language, all causing high time expenditure. Moreover, while some participants wished for condensed information, others expressed the need for more detailed explanations.
The results indicate that the intention to use the app was high, but its perceived ease of use and usefulness could be further enhanced by a better tailoring to different needs of caregivers.
儿童意外伤害，如中毒，在幼儿中很常见，可能会产生严重甚至致命的后果。由于这些伤害大多发生在家中或家的周围，父母和其他照顾者需要做好预防和应对的准备。移动健康应用程序在这方面很有前景，因为智能手机的常规使用非常普遍。本研究评估了德国应用程序“儿童中毒事故”（）。
招募了21名7岁以下儿童的父母和21名临时照顾者参与一项混合方法研究，包括远程可用性测试（出声思考、观察数据和点击记录）、聚焦访谈和系统可用性量表（SUS）。
可用性平均得分为77.6±15.7（满分100分）。大多数参与者表示他们信任该应用程序，并会在特定情况下使用它。总体应用程序结构被认为清晰明了。通过儿童伤害教育和与中毒控制中心的联系，感知有用性得到了促进，而认为该应用程序会妨碍在危急情况下的学习和快速行动则削弱了感知有用性。主要障碍包括文本设计、可视化和复杂语言方面的可理解性降低，所有这些都导致了大量的时间消耗。此外，虽然一些参与者希望获得精简信息，但另一些人则表示需要更详细的解释。
结果表明，使用该应用程序的意愿很高，但通过更好地满足照顾者的不同需求，其易用性和有用性的感知可以进一步提高。
