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Yearb Med Inform 2014; 23(01): 67-81
DOI: 10.15265/IY-2014-0023
Original Article
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart

Human Factors in the Large: Experiences from Denmark, Finland and Canada in Moving Towards Regional and National Evaluations of Health Information System Usability

Contribution of the IMIA Human Factors Working Group
A. Kushniruk
1   School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
5   Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
,
J. Kaipio
2   Strategic Usability Research Group, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
,
M. Nieminen
2   Strategic Usability Research Group, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
,
H. Hyppönen
3   Information Department, National Institute of Health and Welfare THL, Helsinki, Finland
,
T. Lääveri
4   Division of Infectious Diseases, Dept. of Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
,
C. Nohr
5   Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
,
A. M. Kanstrup
6   Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
,
M. Berg Christiansen
5   Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
,
M.-H. Kuo
1   School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
,
E. Borycki
1   School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

15 August 2014

Publication Date:
05 March 2018 (online)

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Summary

Objectives: The objective of this paper is to explore approaches to understanding the usability of health information systems at regional and national levels.

Methods: Several different methods are discussed in case studies from Denmark, Finland and Canada. They range from small scale qualitative studies involving usability testing of systems to larger scale national level questionnaire studies aimed at assessing the use and usability of health information systems by entire groups of health professionals.

Results: It was found that regional and national usability studies can complement smaller scale usability studies, and that they are needed in order to understand larger trends regarding system usability. Despite adoption of EHRs, many health professionals rate the usability of the systems as low. A range of usability issues have been noted when data is collected on a large scale through use of widely distributed questionnaires and websites designed to monitor user perceptions of usability.

Conclusion: As health information systems are deployed on a widespread basis, studies that examine systems used regionally or nationally are required. In addition, collection of large scale data on the usability of specific IT products is needed in order to complement smaller scale studies of specific systems.

Keywords

Health informatics - human factors - usability - health information systems - evaluation
 

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