Perceived usability of the ‘My Hospital Passport’ app in children and parents: a think-aloud study

Abstract

Background Most children admitted to the hospital receive inadequate pain and anxiety management during medical procedures. However, given the many supportive interventions, healthcare professionals must involve children and parents in selecting appropriate pain and anxiety management. Recently, the app ‘My Hospital Passport’ was developed to prepare children for needle-related medical procedures providing information and identifying children’s preferences. Subsequently, it is crucial to evaluate the usability of the app among its end-users to optimise the app’s successful adoption in needle-related procedures. Aim To evaluate the usability of the ‘My Hospital Passport’ app among children and parents. Method A generic, qualitative study using think-aloud interviews was conducted among children and parents experienced with needle-related procedures. Thematic analysis was performed. Results Eleven children and eleven parents participated in think-aloud interviews. In their “journey through the ‘MyHP’ app“, both children and parents were “attracted to use the app”. However, some children and parents experienced difficulties with “navigating through the app” and “terminology interpretation”. The theme “Intention to use the ‘MyHP’ app” revealed that the majority of children and parents were “motivated to use the app”, with some parents recognising the app’s added value as “giving autonomy” and “providing predictability”. Furthermore, some children and parents suggested “adding features to enhance the app’s usability”. Conclusion The ‘My Hospital Passport’ app is user-friendly. However, some navigational and terminological fixes are required to optimise its adoption. Practical implications Future research should focus on the feasibility in daily practice and later on the implementation of the ‘My Hospital Passport’ app in primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare. To ensure that every child undergoing needle-related procedures can benefit from it.