Healthcare UX: insights from cancer patients usability testing

This project focused on usability testing with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) patients and Philadelphia chromosome-positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (Ph+ALL) patients, as well as their caregivers, to assess the effectiveness of the website’s design and identify opportunities for improvement in the upcoming update. The target audience included CML patients who had undergone at least two prior treatments, alongside Ph+ALL patients and their caregivers. All participants were required to be 40 years or older to ensure relevance to the intended user group.

Introduction

Problem statement

The client sought to evaluate the usability of their website among two distinct participant groups, focusing on their ability to navigate specific conditions, which had been separated into two sections during the previous update. This research aimed to determine whether the new structure effectively addressed user needs and reduced potential confusion while identifying opportunities to refine and improve the site for the next web update.

Methodology

We recruited 16 participants through two different recruiting agencies. The majority of participants were CML patients, comprising 15 of the 16 participants, while one participant was a caregiver for a Ph+ALL patient. The average age of participants was 60 years. To ensure comprehensive feedback, we conducted a mix of desktop and mobile sessions.

Participants were tasked with navigating to their respective conditions, accessing the dosing page, and downloading the doctor discussion guide. Throughout the sessions, participants were encouraged to think aloud and share their honest opinions as they completed each task. At the conclusion of each session, participants responded to post-test questions to provide additional insights and reflections.

The limited number of Ph+ALL participants reflects the challenges associated with recruiting individuals from this specialized group. Many patients with this condition receive treatment while staying in the hospital due to the severity of the cancer, making recruitment especially difficult.

Data synthesis and analysis

To synthesize the data, we conducted an affinity mapping exercise. Participant feedback and key observations were systematically grouped into themes, highlighting navigation challenges specifically for mobile users, confusion surrounding certain content areas, and accessibility-related issues. This thematic analysis helped reveal patterns and areas requiring improvement, providing valuable insights for enhancing the user experience.

Different color post-its in different groups

Affinity map showcasing clustered insights from usability testing.

Findings

Participants demonstrated ease in navigating to their condition and were comfortable with the combined dosing information for both conditions on a single page. However, some mobile users encountered difficulties locating the sign-up option within the hamburger menu. Feedback also pointed to areas requiring improvement, including adopting a mobile-first approach, increasing text size on both the website and PDFs, and enhancing color contrast for better accessibility. These represent just some of the findings uncovered during the study.

Recommendations

To address confusion surrounding some of the content and graphics, we recommended updating the content, relocating the glossary from the resources page to a dedicated page, and incorporating tooltips to improve understanding. For mobile users, we suggested moving the sign-up button from a center-aligned position to a left-aligned placement and updating its design to align visually with other navigation links on the site for consistency.

To respond to accessibility feedback, we advised increasing the body text size on both the website and PDFs. Furthermore, we recommended conducting a color contrast audit to identify and update any problematic color combinations. These represent just some of the recommendations we proposed to enhance the overall experience .