Jorge Calvillo-Arbizu1, Laura M Roa-Romero2, Miguel A Estudillo-Valderrama3, Mercedes Salgueira-Lazo4, Nuria Aresté-Fosalba5, Nieves L Del-Castillo-Rodríguez6, Fayna González-Cabrera7, Silvia Marrero-Robayna7, Virginia López-de-la-Manzana8, Isabel Román-Martínez9. 1. Grupo de Ingeniería Biomédica, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, 41092, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Spain. Electronic address: jorgecalvilloarbizu@gmail.com. 2. Grupo de Ingeniería Biomédica, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, 41092, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Spain. 3. Grupo de Ingeniería Biomédica, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, 41092, Spain. 4. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Spain; Servicio de Nefrología, Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena, Sevilla, Spain. 5. Servicio de Nefrología, Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena, Sevilla, Spain. 6. Servicio de Nefrologia, Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. 7. Servicio de Nefrología, Hospital Universitario Doctor Negrín, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. 8. Servicio de Nefrología, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain. 9. Grupo de Ingeniería Biomédica, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, 41092, Spain; Departamento de Ingeniería Telemática, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Despite the promising benefits of the e-Health approaches (including provide technology-based healthcare services to anyone, anytime, and anywhere), few solutions are adopted in daily practice. User acceptance is one of the major obstacles that hinder the success of technology approaches. End-users often stress misalignments among their problems and the solutions that technology systems aim to solve. In other cases, systems developed are unfriendly or unadjusted to the daily practice of clinicians or patient's life. To maximize user acceptance, the relevance of adopting user-centred design and development techniques is well-known. However, users are often assumed to be a homogeneous group with the same set of requirements, what leads to an ineffective identification and addressment of user requirements. Furthermore, usability and accessibility issues must be carefully addressed to guarantee also the right alignment of solutions with user needs. OBJECTIVE: to develop an e-Health system for renal patients at home by adopting user-centred design practices, usability and accessibility standards. MATERIAL AND METHODS: users were categorized in four different groups (i.e., digital patients/caregivers, non-digital patients/caregivers, clinicians and nurses) and a sample was included in the design and development team. Questionnaires and interviews were used to identify user requirements and assess prototypes. RESULTS: Requirements were considered for every kind of user, what resulted on a multi-faceted e-Health system implying different technologies and functionalities regarding to each target user. CONCLUSION: Identification and continuous involvement of all kind of users allow their needs to be properly understood and addressed by technology, raising user acceptance of the final product.
BACKGROUND: Despite the promising benefits of the e-Health approaches (including provide technology-based healthcare services to anyone, anytime, and anywhere), few solutions are adopted in daily practice. User acceptance is one of the major obstacles that hinder the success of technology approaches. End-users often stress misalignments among their problems and the solutions that technology systems aim to solve. In other cases, systems developed are unfriendly or unadjusted to the daily practice of clinicians or patient's life. To maximize user acceptance, the relevance of adopting user-centred design and development techniques is well-known. However, users are often assumed to be a homogeneous group with the same set of requirements, what leads to an ineffective identification and addressment of user requirements. Furthermore, usability and accessibility issues must be carefully addressed to guarantee also the right alignment of solutions with user needs. OBJECTIVE: to develop an e-Health system for renal patients at home by adopting user-centred design practices, usability and accessibility standards. MATERIAL AND METHODS: users were categorized in four different groups (i.e., digital patients/caregivers, non-digital patients/caregivers, clinicians and nurses) and a sample was included in the design and development team. Questionnaires and interviews were used to identify user requirements and assess prototypes. RESULTS: Requirements were considered for every kind of user, what resulted on a multi-faceted e-Health system implying different technologies and functionalities regarding to each target user. CONCLUSION: Identification and continuous involvement of all kind of users allow their needs to be properly understood and addressed by technology, raising user acceptance of the final product.
Authors: Wim Van Biesen; Vivekanand Jha; Ali K Abu-Alfa; Sharon P Andreoli; Gloria Ashuntantang; Bassam Bernieh; Edwina Brown; Yuqing Chen; Rosanna Coppo; Cecile Couchoud; Brett Cullis; Walter Douthat; Felicia U Eke; Brenda Hemmelgarn; Fan Fan Hou; Nathan W Levin; Valerie A Luyckx; Rachael L Morton; Mohammed Rafique Moosa; Fliss E M Murtagh; Marie Richards; Eric Rondeau; Daniel Schneditz; Kamal D Shah; Vladimir Tesar; Karen Yeates; Guillermo Garcia Garcia Journal: Kidney Int Suppl (2011) Date: 2020-02-19