Abstract
BackgroundGlobally, the uptake of health screening is suboptimal, especially in men and those of younger age. In view of the increasing internet access and mobile phone ownership, ScreenMen, a mobile Web app, was developed to improve health screening uptake in men.ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the utility and usability of ScreenMen.MethodsThis study used both qualitative and quantitative methods. Healthy men working in a banking institution were recruited to participate in this study. They were purposively sampled according to job position, age, education level, and screening status. Men were asked to use ScreenMen independently while the screen activities were being recorded. Once completed, retrospective think aloud with playback was conducted with men to obtain their feedback. They were asked to answer the System Usability Scale (SUS). Intention to undergo screening pre- and postintervention was also measured. Qualitative data were analyzed using a framework approach followed by thematic analysis. For quantitative data, the mean SUS score was calculated and change in intention to screening was analyzed using McNemar test.ResultsIn total, 24 men participated in this study. On the basis of the qualitative data, men found ScreenMen useful as they could learn more about their health risks and screening. They found ScreenMen convenient to use, which might trigger men to undergo screening. In terms of usability, men thought that ScreenMen was user-friendly and easy to understand. The key revision done on utility was the addition of a reminder function, whereas for usability, the revisions done were in terms of attracting and gaining users’ trust, improving learnability, and making ScreenMen usable to all types of users. To attract men to use it, ScreenMen was introduced to users in terms of improving health instead of going for screening. Another important revision made was emphasizing the screening tests the users do not need, instead of just informing them about the screening tests they need. A Quick Assessment Mode was also added for users with limited attention span. The quantitative data showed that 8 out of 23 men (35%) planned to attend screening earlier than intended after using the ScreenMen. Furthermore, 4 out of 12 (33%) men who were in the precontemplation stage changed to either contemplation or preparation stage after using ScreenMen with P=.13. In terms of usability, the mean SUS score of 76.4 (SD 7.72) indicated that ScreenMen had good usability.ConclusionsThis study showed that ScreenMen was acceptable to men in terms of its utility and usability. The preliminary data suggested that ScreenMen might increase men’s intention to undergo screening. This paper also presented key lessons learned from the beta testing, which is useful for public health experts and researchers when developing a user-centered mobile Web app.
Highlights
IntroductionMany Web-based interventions have been developed to improve health outcomes of the public
BackgroundIn the past decade, many Web-based interventions have been developed to improve health outcomes of the public
The participants found the ScreenMen useful as they could learn more about their health risks, what screening to go for, and what they could do to improve their health
Summary
Many Web-based interventions have been developed to improve health outcomes of the public. The uptake of health screening remains suboptimal, especially in men and those of younger age [12,13,14]. This pattern has been observed in Malaysia as reported in the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS), where only 34.9% of Malaysian men attended health screening in 2011 [15]. In view of the increasing internet access and mobile phone ownership, ScreenMen, a mobile Web app, was developed to improve health screening uptake in men
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