Learning experience design of an mHealth intervention for parents of children with epilepsy.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to describe the iterative design, development, and evaluation of a novel mHealth learning environment for parents of children with epilepsy. The mHealth learning environment is a component of a broader behavioral intervention called eACT (Epilepsy Adherence in Children and Technology), which seeks to improve antiepileptic drug adherence in children with epilepsy. The eACT mHealth learning environment integrates theoretical principles from the learning sciences with user-centered design methods and advanced learning technologies to provide an efficient and appealing learning experience that is specifically tailored to adult learners. METHODS: The eACT mHealth learning environment was developed by a multidisciplinary team of experts across three major phases including: 1) preparation, 2) iterative design, and 3) iterative development. The preparation phase included developing user personas and conducting focus groups, which identified user needs and use cases for the product. The iterative learning experience design process made use of rapid prototypes in which the product design was improved between versions, resulting in a final design proof. Usability and user experience methods were deployed to evaluate the system during the iterative development phase. RESULTS: Results from three phases of iterative design and development are presented through user personas, usability data, and qualitative analysis. Findings suggest the eACT mHealth learning environment is highly usable and relevant to the unique needs of adult caregivers of children with epilepsy. Findings also suggest that user experience was largely positive. CONCLUSIONS: This paper reveals key insights about how formative learning experience design processes can lead to highly relevant and usable interventions for adult learners.

User experience (re)design and evaluation of a self-guided, mobile health app for adolescents with mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) is a significant cause of morbidity for adolescents. Currently, there is a lack of evidence-based interventions to address common sequelae of mTBI. To address this gap, we designed a program to promote recovery for adolescents following mTBI. Preliminary testing of the Self-Monitoring Activity Regulation and Relaxation Treatment (SMART) program demonstrated good usability but indicated a need for modifications to the program. The SMART application was redesigned with the addition of more interactive and gamified components. Content was also reframed to specifically target and engage adolescents with mTBI. We describe the usability evaluation of the updated SMART application. Children aged 11-18 years diagnosed with mTBI who were 1 to 6 months post mTBI were recruited to participate in a 1-2-hour usability session in which they thought aloud and responded to targeted usability-related questions during their interaction with the SMART program. After completing the session, participants rated their usability experience using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and rated the overall user-friendliness of the program. Participants' responses during the session were qualitatively coded and analyzed. Six adolescents participated in a usability session (average age = 13.7 years). On the SUS, participants rated the program as highly usable (M = 85.6, SD = 3.24). They also had overwhelmingly positive feedback regarding the content, design and structure of the program. Overall, findings suggest that the redesigned SMART program was usable, acceptable, and relevant to adolescents with mTBI. Based on adolescents' feedback, additional modifications were made before the program undergoes efficacy testing.