title: The EU-project United4Health: User-centred design of an information system for a Norwegian telemedicine service.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Organizational changes of health care services in Norway brought to light a need for new clinical pathways. This study presents the design and evaluation of an information system for a new telemedicine service for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients after hospital discharge.
  
  
  METHODS
  A user-centred design approach was employed composed of a workshop with end-users, two user tests and a field trial. For data collection, qualitative methods such as observations, semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  User workshop's outcome informed the implementation of the system initial prototype, evaluated by end-users in a usability laboratory. Several usability and functionality issues were identified and solved, such as the interface between the initial colour scheme and the triage colours. Iterative refinements were made and a second user evaluation showed that the main issues were solved. The responses to a questionnaire presented a high score of user satisfaction. In the final phase, a field trial showed satisfactory use of the system.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed how the target end-users groups were actively involved in identifying the needs, suggestions and preferences. These aspects were addressed in the development of an information system through a user-centred design process. The process efficiently enabled users to give feedback about design and functionality. Continuous refinement of the system was the key to full development and suitability for the telemedicine service. This research was a result of the international cooperation between partners within the project United4Health, a part of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research of the European Union.
authors.affiliation: Department of Information and Communication Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Science, University of Agder, Norway berglind.smaradottir@uia.no.
authors.forename: Berglind
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Smaradottir
authors.affiliation: Department of Information and Communication Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Science, University of Agder, Norway.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gerdes
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosocial Health, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Norway.
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: Department of Information and Communication Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Science, University of Agder, Norway.
authors.forename: Rune
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fensli
mesh_terms: D004493:Education; D005062:European Union; D063005:Health Information Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009664:Norway; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000628:therapy; D012985:Software Design; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014584:User-Computer Interface
keywords: Health information systems; human-computer interaction; telemedicine; usability; user-centred design