End users’ rating of a mHealth app prototype for paediatric speech pathology clinical assessment

BACKGROUND: Previous studies reported the efficacy of the implementation of information technology in clinical evaluation. No research has addressed the development of mobile applications for the clinical evaluation and diagnosis of paediatric language disorders. PURPOSE: This study aims to investigate the usability of a clinical assessment mobile application (app) prototype, the “Paediatric Arabic Language Test” (PALT), to diagnose language disorders among paediatric patients. METHODS: Using the Lewis Computer Software Usability Questionnaire (CSUQ) and a 5-point Likert Scale, data was collected and scored on the usability of the app prototype developed on two mobile platforms- iPhone and iPad- across a general operating system, iOS. A sample of 77 potential end-users rated the usability of the app prototype that they used between 2017 and 2019. RESULTS: The average CSUQ rating for the app prototype was 75.68 and 53.2% strongly agreed that the information and its organization was clear and easy to understand; 75% of the end users were very satisfied (p < 0.0001). Out of the total items, 68% of studied items on the scale loaded on factor 1 even after subjecting the scale to three standardization methods. CONCLUSION: The prototype design was judged to be usable. Users reported an effective user interface that allows effective operation. Differences in the factor loading may be explained by cultural factors, type of task and field context.