ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2020
Effect of Prior Health Knowledge on the Usability of Two Home Medical Devices: Usability Study.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Usability Across 3 mHealth Problem-Solving Training Interventions for Diverse Neurodevelopmental and Neurological Populations: Multicase Usability Evaluation.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Designing for Knowledge Generalization in Medical Device Instructions Among Health Care Professionals: Qualitative Interview and Observation Study.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- The Usability of Continuous Monitoring Devices With Deterioration Alerting Systems in Noncritical Care Units: Scoping Review.Interactive journal of medical research · 2026Review
- Volatile Essential Oils from Different Tree Species Influence Scent Impression and Physiological Response.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- User Experience Study of the Patient Monitoring Systems Based on Usability Testing and Eye Tracking.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- A Handheld Tool for the Rapid Morphological Identification of Mosquito Species (VectorCam) for Community-Based Malaria Vector Surveillance: Summative Usability Study.JMIR human factors · 2024Article
- User Experience Evaluation of a Spinal Surgery Robot: Workload, Usability, and Satisfaction Study.JMIR human factors · 2024Article
- Patient and clinician use characteristics and perceptions of pulse oximeter use: A scoping review.International journal of medical informatics · 2022Article
- Effects of User Characteristics on the Usability of a Home-Connected Medical Device (Smart Angel) for Ambulatory Monitoring: Usability Study.JMIR human factors · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStudies on the usability of health care devices are becoming more common, although usability standards are not necessarily specified and followed. Yet, there is little knowledge about the impact of the context of use on the usability outcome. It is specified in the usability standard (ISO 9241-11, 2018) of a device that it may be affected by its context of use and especially by the characteristics of its users. Among these, prior health knowledge (ie, knowledge about human body functioning) is crucial. However, no study has shown that prior health knowledge influences the usability of medical devices.
objectiveOur study aimed to fill this gap by analyzing the relationship between the usability of two home medical devices (soon to be used in the context of ambulatory surgery) and prior health knowledge through an experimental approach.
methodsFor assessing the usability of two home medical devices (blood pressure monitor and pulse oximeter), user tests were conducted among 149 students. A mixed-methods approach (subjective vs objective) using a variety of standard instruments was adopted (direct observation, video analysis, and questionnaires). Participants completed a questionnaire to show the extent of their previous health knowledge and then operated both devices randomly. Efficiency (ie, handling time) and effectiveness (ie, number of handling errors) measures were collected by video analysis. Satisfaction measures were collected by a questionnaire (system usability scale [SUS]). The qualitative observational data were coded using inductive analysis by two independent researchers specialized in cognitive psychology and cognitive ergonomics. Correlational analyses and clusters were performed to test how usability relates to sociodemographic characteristics and prior health knowledge.
resultsThe results indicated a lack of usability for both devices. Regarding the blood pressure monitor (137 participants), users made approximately 0.77 errors (SD 1.49), and the mean SUS score was 72.4 (SD 21.07), which is considered "satisfactory." The pulse oximeter (147 participants) appeared easier to use, but participants made more errors (mean 0.99, SD 0.92), and the mean SUS score was 71.52 (SD 17.29), which is considered "satisfactory." The results showed a low negative and significant correlation only between the effectiveness of the two devices and previous knowledge (blood pressure monitor: r=-0.191, P=.03; pulse oximeter: r=-0.263, P=.001). More subtly, we experimentally identified the existence of a threshold level (χ²
conclusionsThis study has the following two contributions: (1) a theoretical interest highlighting the importance of user characteristics including prior health knowledge on usability outcomes and (2) an applied interest to provide recommendations to designers and medical staff.
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