Evaluation of a web-based telehealth system: A preliminary investigation with seniors in New Zealand

Abstract

Home telehealth systems are gaining popularity among seniors, but they are mostly doctor centric, focused on managing diseases instead of preventing them, and do not take into account the social needs of the users. Increasing numbers of seniors going online opens up opportunities to address the shortcomings of current telehealth systems. We have developed a patient-centric, web-based telehealth system which uses Web 2.0 technologies to add social support and user defined content. In this study, we have evaluated the functionalities, usability and user interface of the functional prototype with eight seniors of age range 67 to 90 by using a multimethod approach involving individual walkthrough, system usability scale (SUS), protocol analysis and interviews. Overall, users were satisfied with the usability of the system and functionalities promoting exercises and supporting weight management were in most demand. The evaluation of our prototype demonstrates that combining telehealth functionalities with social component and user-generated content is a promising way to enable users to proactively manage and improve their health. Copyright 2012 ACM.