Designing usable mobile forms for collection of health data in Uganda

Abstract

Background: Data collection entails obtaining quality and useful information by different organizations and institutions for purposes of answering a research question, establishing facts, making better decisions and solving major problems. Recently, here has been a rise in the use of mobile forms to collect data in health research, and more broadly in the delivery of healthcare using mobile devices. However, in spite of this increase in usage, mobile forms still pose some usability challenges specifically for users in rural areas. These usability challenges may be attributed to design limitations caused by small screen sizes of mobile phones, technology transfer from more industrialized countries, time constraints which do not favour form developers and sometimes incapability of form creation software. In addition, usability challenges crop up due to the low aptitude of form users and the type of content in the mobile forms. The major aim of this research therefore was to explore strategies that can be adopted to design more usable mobile forms which are used to collect health data in low resource settings in order to improve end user experience. Methods: The research was anchored on the design science research methodology (DSRM). We explored the design flaws in existing mobile forms and the subsequent usability challenges, assessed existing design principles for mobile applications and obtained input from both form developers and software developers who are all key stakeholders in the mobile form development process. In addition, we involved form users by collecting their design preferences using mid-fidelity prototypes. High-fidelity prototypes were also developed based on these design preferences and the end user experience assessed after interaction with the prototype using the group usability testing approach. Results: Some of the common design challenges in the forms included: lack of progress disclosure amidst the many pages in the form, no indicator on how to navigate the form, data validation problems and feedback delays among others. These design limitations led to usability challenges such as the inability of the form user to know where in the form they are and prolonged scrolling before accessing the required content. This research thus proposes 16 design principles to guide the design of mobile forms. The principles are categorized under 6 major themes namely: communication, visibility, navigation, form layout, content characteristics and information. Each of the design principles seeks to address some of the major usability challenges form users face during interaction with mobile forms. The principles are hinged on human computer interaction theories of discoverability and ergonomics which seek to address designing for effortless user interaction and for the most appropriate environment. Conclusions: Designing for usability particularly for low aptitude users in rural areas is still a challenge because of the small screen sizes and the continued technology transfer from the more industrialized countries. The use of design principles during form design and evaluation can assist form developers create more usable mobile forms. In addition the use of prototypes as a means of involving form users in the design of mobile forms can be a basis for capturing implementing and evaluating user needs at minimal costs, hence leading to better mobile form designs and improved user experience during data collection.