Evaluating the usability of a single UK community acquired brain injury (ABI) rehabilitation service website: Implications for research methodology and website design

Abstract

Information provision is an important resource for those living with acquired brain injury (ABI) and their families. Web-based health information services are now common additions to health service provision. Ideally, they should be easy to use and provide useful, relevant and accurate information. ABI injuries do not affect individuals in the same way, and survivors can have a wide range of abilities and impairments. Therefore, any informational resource intended for this group should take account of their needs and help to compensate for their limitations. This pilot study recruited a group of individuals with ABI (of a median Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale rating of "lower moderate disability") who were clients of a UK National Health Service rehabilitation service and asked them to assess a specialised website provided by that service and hosted by their employing Primary Care Trust organisation. Participants completed a practical task and then gave their opinions on various aspects of website design, and content. They were also asked to suggest improvements and recommend additions. Overall the results were favourable. However, improvements in the legibility, layout and writing style were identified. There were also requests to add more information on the existing topics and add additional topics. The discussion also evaluates the utility of the methodology and the implications of the results for others considering constructing their own website.

Identifying State Resources and Support Programs on E-Government Websites for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

“…One study developed a website evaluation questionnaire for nursing websites that was tested in both the USA and Taiwan [25], while Newby and Groom [27] evaluated the usability of a UK rehabilitative site and noted room for improvement, specifically in relation to legibility, layout, writing style, and the need for more information. Another study assessed the quality and readability of Internet information for adults with hearing impairment and their caregivers in five different countries and offered a number of suggestions for improvement based on the disparities they found [28].…”

Usability remote evaluation: METBA system

“…Empirical studies analyzed in this revision show that the most common methodology is qualitative, based on previously described techniques such as questionnaires [14,15,16], observation or semistructured interview. It is also common to use a usability laboratory to develop the sessions with participants [17,18,19] although the experimental condition can be applied in the participant's natural environments -at home or work-using a portable laboratory [17,18].…”

“…Thus effectiveness and efficiency measures are obtained. Similarly, a measure of the user satisfaction with the tool is also obtained when he/she provides feedback by means of a questionnaire or interview [14,15,16].…”

Search engine secrets

“…8 Advise patients to search for websites that offer consumer health information without advertisements to alleviate some of the issues with website reliability. Reliable websites are best accessed via the nih.gov or cdc.gov search boxes rather than using large search engines.…”

“…Lay users may be drawn to the visual aspect of a website rather than content; tell them to avoid sites with promotional tones and to obtain information only from sites that are clearly noncommercial and are likely to be nonbiased. 8 Searchers must be savvy concerning a website' s currency and look for a last modifi ed date; although there' s no established standard of time for updating, if changes are needed they're usually made every 2 to 3 months. 9 Questionnaires are available to guide users to reliable health information on the Internet, but no criteria have been established for evaluating the quality of a website based on scores achieved on the questionnaires.…”