Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2020 Aug 19;21(5):1054-1058.
doi: 10.5811/westjem.2020.7.48217.

Development and Usability Testing of a Web-based COVID-19 Self-triage Platform

Justin D Schrager  1 , Keke Schuler  2 , Alexander P Isakov  1 , David W Wright  1 , Anna Q Yaffee  1 , Kara L Jacobson  3 , Ruth M Parker  1 , Craig Goolsby  4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Development and Usability Testing of a Web-based COVID-19 Self-triage Platform

Justin D Schrager et al. West J Emerg Med. .

Abstract

Introduction: The development and deployment of a web-based, self-triage tool for severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19 disease) aimed at preventing surges in healthcare utilization could provide easily understandable health guidance with the goal of mitigating unnecessary emergency department (ED) and healthcare visits. We describe the iterative development and usability testing of such a tool. We hypothesized that adult users could understand and recall the recommendations provided by a COVID-19 web-based, self-triage tool.

Methods: We convened a multidisciplinary panel of medical experts at two academic medical schools in an iterative redesign process of a previously validated web-based, epidemic screening tool for the current COVID-19 pandemic. We then conducted a cross-sectional usability study over a 24-hour period among faculty, staff, and students at the two participating universities. Participants were randomly assigned a pre-written health script to enter into the self-triage website for testing. The primary outcome was immediate recall of website recommendations. Secondary outcomes included usability measures. We stratified outcomes by demographic characteristics.

Results: A final sample of 877 participants (mean age, 32 years [range, 19-84 years]; 65.3% female) was used in the analysis. We found that 79.4% of the participants accurately recalled the recommendations provided by the website. Almost all participants (96.9%) found the website easy to use and navigate.

Conclusion: Adult users of a COVID-19 self-triage website, recruited from an academic setting, were able to successfully recall self-care instructions from the website and found it user-friendly. This website appears to be a feasible way to provide evidence-based health guidance to adult patients during a pandemic. Website guidance could be used to reduce unnecessary ED and healthcare visits.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: By the WestJEM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. No author has professional or financial relationships with any companies that are relevant to this study. There are no conflicts of interest or sources of funding to declare.

Figures

Figure
Figure
Visual abstract of user interface and experience as well as usability testing.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report – 114. 2020. [Accessed May 14, 2020]. Available at: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/2....
    1. Giwa AL, Desai A, Duca A. Novel 2019 coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19): an updated overview for emergency clinicians. Emerg Med Pract. 2020;21(5):1–28. - PubMed
    1. Willan J, King AJ, Jeffery K, et al. Challenges for NHS hospitals during covid-19 epidemic. BMJ. 2020;368:m1117. - PubMed
    1. Hollander JE, Carr BG. Virtually perfect? Telemedicine for Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:1679–81. - PubMed
    1. Greenhalgh T, Wherton J, Shaw S, et al. Video consultations for Covid-19. BMJ. 2020;368:m998. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms