A nationwide evaluation on electronic medication-related information provided by hospital websites

Personalized and Self-Management: Systematic Search and Evaluation Quality Factors and User Preference of Drug Reference Apps in Taiwan

Background: Drug reference apps promote self-management and improve the efficiency and quality of work for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and patients. This study aimed to describe a systematic and stepwise process to identify drug reference apps in Taiwan, assess the quality of these apps, and analyze the influential factors for user ratings. Methods: A two-step algorithm (KESS) consisting of keyword growing and systematic search was proposed. Seven independent reviewers were trained to evaluate these apps using Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). A logistic regression model was fitted and average marginal effects (AME) were calculated to identify the effects of factors for higher user ratings. Results: A total of 23 drug reference apps in Taiwan were identified and analyzed. Generally, these drug reference apps were evaluated as acceptable quality with an average MARS score of 3.23. Higher user engagement, more functionality, better aesthetics, and more information associated with higher user ratings. Navigation is the most influential factor on higher user ratings (AME: 13.15%) followed by performance (AME: 11.03%), visual appeal (AME: 10.87%), credibility (AME: 10.67%), and quantity of information (AME: 10.42%). Conclusions: User experience and information clearly affect user ratings of drug reference apps. Five key factors should be considered when designing drug reference apps.

Provision and Need for Medicine Information in Asia and Africa: A Scoping Review of the Literature

Published reviews of written medicine information (WMI) have mainly drawn on studies published in high-income countries, including very few Asian or African studies. We therefore set out to scope the research literature to determine the extent and type of studies concerning WMI for patients/consumers across these two continents. We sought empirical studies published between January 2004 and December 2019, conducted in any Asian or African country, as defined by the United Nations, in English or with an English abstract. The majority of the 923 papers identified were from high-income countries. We retained 26 papers from Africa and 99 from Asia. Most African studies (n = 20) involved patients in the development of PILs, in the assessment of the effectiveness of PILs or in surveys. In contrast, the highest proportion of Asian studies concerned the content of WMI (n = 42). WMI is desired, but needs to be in local languages, and there needs to be more use made of pre-tested pictograms. Existing WMI frequently does not meet local regulatory requirements, particularly locally manufactured products. A number of studies reported potentially positive impacts of providing WMI on knowledge and medicine use behaviours. Provision of medicine information is essential for safe use of medicines in all countries. Internationally agreed guidelines, incorporating good design principles, are needed to ensure the optimal content and design of WMI. The World Health Organization should support African and Asian regulatory bodies to share best practice in relation to WMI for patients/consumers and to develop and implement pan-continental guidelines that take into account consumer needs and preferences.

Evaluating hospital websites in Kuwait to improve consumer engagement and access to health information: a cross-sectional analytical study

BACKGROUND

Current advances in information and communication technology have made accessing and obtaining health-related information easier than ever before. Today, many hospital websites use a patient-centric approach to promote engagement and encourage learning for better health-related decision making. However, little is known about the current state of hospital websites in the State of Kuwait. This study aims to evaluate hospital websites in Kuwait and offer recommendations to improve patient engagement and access to health information.

METHODS

This study employs a cross-sectional analytical approach to evaluate hospital websites in Kuwait in 2017. The websites of hospitals that provide in-patient services were identified through a structured search. Only active websites that were available in either English or Arabic were considered. The evaluation of the websites involved a combination of automated and expert- based evaluation methods and was performed across four dimensions: Accessibility, Usability, Presence, and Content.

RESULTS

Nine hospitals met the inclusion criteria. Most of the websites fell short in all four dimensions. None of the websites passed the accessibility guidelines. The usability of websites varied between hospitals. Overall, the majority of hospitals in Kuwait have rudimentary online presence and their websites require careful reassessment with respect to design, content, and user experience. The websites focus primarily on promoting services provided by the hospital rather than engaging and communicating with patients or providing evidence-based information.

CONCLUSIONS

Healthcare organization and website developers should follow best-practices to improve their websites taking into consideration the quality, readability, objectivity, coverage and currency of the information as well as the design of their websites. Hospitals should leverage social media to gain outreach and better engagement with consumers. The websites should be offered in additional languages commonly spoken by people living in Kuwait. Efforts should be made to ensure that health information on hospital websites are evidence-based and checked by healthcare professionals.

Evaluation of Web-Based Consumer Medication Information: Content and Usability of 4 Australian Websites

Background

Medication is the most common intervention in health care, and written medication information can affect consumers’ medication-related behavior. Research has shown that a large proportion of Australians search for medication information on the Internet.

Objective

To evaluate the medication information content, based on consumer medication information needs, and usability of 4 Australian health websites: Better Health Channel, myDr, healthdirect, and NPS MedicineWise .

Methods

To assess website content, the most common consumer medication information needs were identified using (1) medication queries to the healthdirect helpline (a telephone helpline available across most of Australia) and (2) the most frequently used medications in Australia. The most frequently used medications were extracted from Australian government statistics on use of subsidized medicines in the community and the National Census of Medicines Use. Each website was assessed to determine whether it covered or partially covered information and advice about these medications. To assess website usability, 16 consumers participated in user testing wherein they were required to locate 2 pieces of medication information on each website. Brief semistructured interviews were also conducted with participants to gauge their opinions of the websites.

Results

Information on prescription medication was more comprehensively covered on all websites (3 of 4 websites covered 100% of information) than nonprescription medication (websites covered 0%-67% of information). Most websites relied on consumer medicines information leaflets to convey prescription medication information to consumers. Information about prescription medication classes was less comprehensive, with no website providing all information examined about antibiotics and antidepressants. Participants (n=16) were able to locate medication information on websites in most cases (accuracy ranged from 84% to 91%). However, a number of usability issues relating to website navigation and information display were identified. For example, websites not allowing combinations of search terms to be entered in search boxes and continuous blocks of text without subheadings.

Conclusions

Of the 4 Australian health information websites tested, none provided consumers with comprehensive medication information on both prescription and nonprescription medications in a user-friendly way. Using data on consumer information needs and user testing to guide medication information content and website design is a useful approach to inform consumer website development.