Wednesday, April 1, 2009
PDA and Smartphone Usability in Clinical Practice
Filed under: Society
The Healthcare Human Factors Group, a research organisation affiliated with Canada's University Health Network, has conducted a usability study assessing the intuitiveness of five different PDA's and smartphones during four basic scenarios that nurses typically experience. This is all very interesting as the number of portable clinical applications we feature on these pages has been growing rapidly.
Here is a snippet from the summary findings:
Important ConsiderationsNurses expect lightweight devices with physical keyboards, advanced rendering capabilities, intuitive menu structure and data access speeds that are comparable to desktop applications
Devices need to be portable and compact; ideally weigh less than 180g
Larger screen sizes are preferred, so long as page rendering is advanced
System speed perception was also an important indicator of device acceptance; in addition, Wi-Fi compatible devices are recommended
Be mindful of the types of applications and tasks the nurses will be using most; if text entry is required for the majority of tasks, a device with a physical keyboard is recommended
From an infection prevention and control standpoint, devices that can easily be used with a protective cover that can be easily wiped with a disinfectant are recommended. Those devices with the fewest buttons, connectors, and crevices that could trap microbes are considered best. From the devices that we reviewed, the iPhone 3G and iPAQ 210 would be most suitable in this regard. Recommendations
The Blackberry Bold and iPhone 3G were found to be acceptable devices. The Nokia N810 also met or exceeded the performance of these devices, but was generally considered too bulky and heavy for nurses to use on a routine basis. The Palm Treo 680 and HP iPAQ 210 are not recommended.
Read on for the details: Human Factors Evaluation of PDAs and Smartphones in Nursing Practice...
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