PMID- 35767323
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20220827
IS  - 2369-3762 (Print)
IS  - 2369-3762 (Electronic)
IS  - 2369-3762 (Linking)
VI  - 8
IP  - 2
DP  - 2022 Jun 29
TI  - Usability Methods and Attributes Reported in Usability Studies of Mobile Apps for 
      Health Care Education: Scoping Review.
PG  - e38259
LID - 10.2196/38259 [doi]
LID - e38259
AB  - BACKGROUND: Mobile devices can provide extendable learning environments in higher 
      education and motivate students to engage in adaptive and collaborative learning. 
      Developers must design mobile apps that are practical, effective, and easy to 
      use, and usability testing is essential for understanding how mobile apps meet 
      users' needs. No previous reviews have investigated the usability of mobile apps 
      developed for health care education. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this scoping review is 
      to identify usability methods and attributes in usability studies of mobile apps 
      for health care education. METHODS: A comprehensive search was carried out in 10 
      databases, reference lists, and gray literature. Studies were included if they 
      dealt with health care students and usability of mobile apps for learning. 
      Frequencies and percentages were used to present the nominal data, together with 
      tables and graphical illustrations. Examples include a figure of the study 
      selection process, an illustration of the frequency of inquiry usability 
      evaluation and data collection methods, and an overview of the distribution of 
      the identified usability attributes. We followed the Arksey and O'Malley 
      framework for scoping reviews. RESULTS: Our scoping review collated 88 articles 
      involving 98 studies, mainly related to medical and nursing students. The studies 
      were conducted from 22 countries and were published between 2008 and 2021. Field 
      testing was the main usability experiment used, and the usability evaluation 
      methods were either inquiry-based or based on user testing. Inquiry methods were 
      predominantly used: 1-group design (46/98, 47%), control group design (12/98, 
      12%), randomized controlled trials (12/98, 12%), mixed methods (12/98, 12%), and 
      qualitative methods (11/98, 11%). User testing methods applied were all think 
      aloud (5/98, 5%). A total of 17 usability attributes were identified; of these, 
      satisfaction, usefulness, ease of use, learning performance, and learnability 
      were reported most frequently. The most frequently used data collection method 
      was questionnaires (83/98, 85%), but only 19% (19/98) of studies used a 
      psychometrically tested usability questionnaire. Other data collection methods 
      included focus group interviews, knowledge and task performance testing, and user 
      data collected from apps, interviews, written qualitative reflections, and 
      observations. Most of the included studies used more than one data collection 
      method. CONCLUSIONS: Experimental designs were the most commonly used methods for 
      evaluating usability, and most studies used field testing. Questionnaires were 
      frequently used for data collection, although few studies used psychometrically 
      tested questionnaires. The usability attributes identified most often were 
      satisfaction, usefulness, and ease of use. The results indicate that combining 
      different usability evaluation methods, incorporating both subjective and 
      objective usability measures, and specifying which usability attributes to test 
      seem advantageous. The results can support the planning and conduct of future 
      usability studies for the advancement of mobile learning apps in health care 
      education. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/19072.
CI  - (c)Susanne Grodem Johnson, Thomas Potrebny, Lillebeth Larun, Donna Ciliska, Nina 
      Rydland Olsen. Originally published in JMIR Medical Education 
      (https://mededu.jmir.org), 29.06.2022.
FAU - Johnson, Susanne Grodem
AU  - Johnson SG
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-2500-8952
AD  - Faculty of Health and Function, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, 
      Bergen, Norway.
FAU - Potrebny, Thomas
AU  - Potrebny T
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-1487-0560
AD  - Faculty of Health and Function, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, 
      Bergen, Norway.
FAU - Larun, Lillebeth
AU  - Larun L
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-2012-7116
AD  - Division of Health Services, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
FAU - Ciliska, Donna
AU  - Ciliska D
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-7124-4895
AD  - Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
FAU - Olsen, Nina Rydland
AU  - Olsen NR
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-5173-1597
AD  - Faculty of Health and Function, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, 
      Bergen, Norway.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Review
DEP - 20220629
PL  - Canada
TA  - JMIR Med Educ
JT  - JMIR medical education
JID - 101684518
PMC - PMC9280458
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - health education
OT  - mobile apps
OT  - online learning
OT  - students
OT  - user-computer interface
COIS- Conflicts of Interest: None declared.
EDAT- 2022/06/30 06:00
MHDA- 2022/06/30 06:01
PMCR- 2022/06/29
CRDT- 2022/06/29 11:53
PHST- 2022/03/25 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2022/06/05 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2022/06/02 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2022/06/29 11:53 [entrez]
PHST- 2022/06/30 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2022/06/30 06:01 [medline]
PHST- 2022/06/29 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - v8i2e38259 [pii]
AID - 10.2196/38259 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - JMIR Med Educ. 2022 Jun 29;8(2):e38259. doi: 10.2196/38259.