TY - JOUR
T1 - Overcoming Challenges to Inclusive User-based Testing of Health Information Technology with Vulnerable Older Adults
T2 - Recommendations from a Human Factors Engineering Expert Inquiry
AU - Peute, Linda W.
AU - Wildenbos, Gaby-Anne
AU - Engelsma, Thomas
AU - Lesselroth, Blake J.
AU - Lichtner, Valentina
AU - Monkman, Helen
AU - Neal, David
AU - van Velsen, Lex
AU - Jaspers, Monique W.
AU - Marcilly, Romaric
N1 - Publisher Copyright: IMIA and Thieme. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.
PY - 2022/8/1
Y1 - 2022/8/1
N2 - OBJECTIVES: Involving representative users in usability testing of health information technology (HIT) is central to user-centered design. However, (vulnerable) older adults as representative users have unique requirements. Aging processes may affect physical capabilities and cognitive skills, which can hamper testing with this demographic and may require special attention and revised protocols. This study was performed to provide expert-based recommendations for HIT user-testing with (vulnerable) older adults to support inclusive HIT design and evaluation. METHODS: First, we conducted a structured workshop with ten experts in HIT implementation and research, recruited through purposeful sampling, to generate insights into how characteristics of older adults may influence user-testing. Next, five Human Factor researchers experienced in HIT user-testing with (vulnerable) older adults validated the results and provided additional textual insights to gain consensus on the most important recommendations. A thematic analysis was performed on the resulting inquiries. Applied codes were based on the User-Centered Design framework. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in nine recommendations for user-testing of HIT with older adults, divided into three main themes: (1) empathetic approach and trust-building, (2) new requirements for testing and study design, and (3) adjustments to usability evaluation methods. For each theme a checklist of relevant items to follow-up on the recommendation is provided. CONCLUSIONS: The recommendations generated through expert inquiry contribute to more effective usability testing of HIT with older adults. This provides an important step towards improved accessibility of HIT amongst older adults through inclusive user-centered design.
AB - OBJECTIVES: Involving representative users in usability testing of health information technology (HIT) is central to user-centered design. However, (vulnerable) older adults as representative users have unique requirements. Aging processes may affect physical capabilities and cognitive skills, which can hamper testing with this demographic and may require special attention and revised protocols. This study was performed to provide expert-based recommendations for HIT user-testing with (vulnerable) older adults to support inclusive HIT design and evaluation. METHODS: First, we conducted a structured workshop with ten experts in HIT implementation and research, recruited through purposeful sampling, to generate insights into how characteristics of older adults may influence user-testing. Next, five Human Factor researchers experienced in HIT user-testing with (vulnerable) older adults validated the results and provided additional textual insights to gain consensus on the most important recommendations. A thematic analysis was performed on the resulting inquiries. Applied codes were based on the User-Centered Design framework. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in nine recommendations for user-testing of HIT with older adults, divided into three main themes: (1) empathetic approach and trust-building, (2) new requirements for testing and study design, and (3) adjustments to usability evaluation methods. For each theme a checklist of relevant items to follow-up on the recommendation is provided. CONCLUSIONS: The recommendations generated through expert inquiry contribute to more effective usability testing of HIT with older adults. This provides an important step towards improved accessibility of HIT amongst older adults through inclusive user-centered design.
KW - Health services accessibility
KW - Medical informatics applications
KW - aged
KW - social inclusion
KW - user centred design
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85143379721&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1742499
DO - https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1742499
M3 - Article
C2 - 35654432
SN - 0943-4747
VL - 31
SP - 74
EP - 81
JO - Yearbook of medical informatics
JF - Yearbook of medical informatics
IS - 1
ER -