Development and Usability Testing of a PHR for Down’s
Syndrome (DS) Care Coordination
Jeffrey Duah1, UROP Fellow, Dept. of Computer Science, with Dr. Elizabeth Baker1, Dept. of Information Systems, Dr. Bethany Cosgrove2, School of Nursing, and ISOSCELES Lab1
1Virginia Commonwealth University 2UNC Chapel Hill
Parents of children with Down’s Syndrome typically have many health professionals they have to meet with which leads to the need to efficiently document the development of the child. With this, information management becomes a problem for a number of families. Dr. Bethany Cosgrove drafted 321Connect with the purpose of addressing this problem and allowing for smoother coordination of care. This study aims to, 1) create a mHealth application (321 Connect) for documenting the development of children with Down’s Syndrome and 2) conduct usability testing with the general mobile device users on said app. Development for 321Connect (Android) began on February 2021. It was created with an XML front-end, Java for the logic and functionality, and a SQLite database. Usability testing was done via survey through QuestionPro. Users were asked to follow a script and use the app and then fill out a 10-question survey about the usability of the app. Initial results were favorable with the usability score of 78.8 with just 20 participants. Testing is still ongoing and is expected to increase the score. The primary results showed that users agreed that the app was easy to navigate and the systems were well implemented. Users also saw the importance of the app to the Down’s Syndrome community and believed it would greatly benefit them. This is important as this app will be something that caretakers will interact with daily. Ease of use and well-integrated systems are of upmost importance for the success of the app. Dr. Cosgrove’s testing with actual families proved fruitful as they praised the app for its helpfulness and ease of use. With feedback from testing, changes will be made to the prototype in order to provide the families with the best experience possible.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1415/thumbnail.jp
