Usability of Electronic Health Records System Interface: A qualitative study on nurses’ perceptions in Finland
2021 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
This qualitative research’s aim was to study the perceptions of Finnish nurses when it comes to the usability of electronic health records (EHRs) system interface design. The specific EHRs system researched in this thesis was the Effica system, which is widely used in the Finnish healthcare. Fours nurses from a hospital in Finland were interviewed for this research, and the interview results were analyzed according to thematic analysis. This study used the interpretive research method in order to capture the nurses’ perceptions about the usability of the Effica interface design. The results of this research indicated that the Effica EHRs system interface design usability has many aspects that work poorly, such as the various and complex steps that need to be remembered by heart, the multiple and confusing tabs, and illogical structure of the interface. Nurses did, however, pinpoint also aspects that work well with the interface design, for example the main menu and the medication components, as well as the fact that the system directs the user to the next phase well. The nurses also suggested some improvement points on how to make the interface usability better, such as to add a possibility to suggest one's own title if appropriate title cannot be found, to add a search function on the interface, have separate component for vital functions and blood sugar monitoring, deleting the statistics tab and have the ability to sign into the system with a badge instead passwords, which need to be changed frequently. A lot of research has been made about the EHRs system usability, but few research has been conducted from the point of view of the interface design, or from the point of view of Finnish nurses. Therefore, this study has shed light in this under-researched area of EHRs system usability and can assist in developing Effica’s and perhaps also other EHRs systems’ usability in a better direction, hopefully resulting in safer and better healthcare outcomes.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2021. , p. 63
Keywords [en]
Usability, Electronic Health Records (EHRs) System, Human Computer interaction (HCI), User-Centered Design (UCD), User experience (UX) Design, Learnability, Errors, Satisfaction, Memorability, Efficiency
National Category
Engineering and Technology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-105722OAI: oai:DiVA.org:lnu-105722DiVA, id: diva2:1577728
Subject / course
Informatics
Educational program
Master Programme in Information Systems, 60 credits
Examiners
2021-07-062021-07-032024-08-28Bibliographically approved