Exploring the Usability and User Experience of the Symptom Checker Interface

Abstract: The symptom checker is an application designed to assist patients in self-assessment and provide recommendations on whether they should see the doctor. In the United States, many healthcare websites have provided symptom checkers as a service, whether for educational purposes or to enhance the patient's healthcare experience. Research indicates that symptom checkers must be more transparent and accessible for the users. Users must be able to trust the recommendations of the symptom checker for it to be effective. Therefore, the aim of this study is (1) To test whether the symptom checker can provide users with practical medical advice through clinical cases and (2) To examine whether the interface and features of the symptom checker affect user trust and experience.This study surveyed medical websites that currently offer symptom checkers. Two symptom checkers were ultimately selected for the study based on the symptom checker coverage of medical conditions, diagnostic accuracy, and appropriateness of medical advice. A total of 30 participants were invited to participate in the experiment to evaluate the usability of the symptom checker interfaces. Six clinical vignettes were provided during the experiment as scenarios of symptom inquiries. The evaluation methods included: (1) Tasks performed by think aloud method, (2) completing the questionnaire of SUS (System Usability Scale), UEQ (User Experience Questionnaire), and a DAS(Decision Attitude Scale), (3) conducting semi-structured interviews to gain in-depth insights into participants' experiences, perceptions, and recommendations regarding their interactions with the symptom checker.The results revealed that the SUS scores of the two symptom checkers were 67.5 (Grade D) and 47.5 (Grade F), respectively, failing to meet the acceptable standards of the SUS score. Furthermore, the pragmatic and hedonic quality of the UEQ scale didn't meet the criteria. Through the semi-structured interview, we found that: (1) participants' accuracy in identifying diseases was only 48% and 53%, and the majority of participants indicated that they would consider the results of the symptom checker just a suggestion. (2) 70% of participants thought detailed descriptions of symptoms and treatment methods could help increase trust and understanding of the conditions. (3) 67% of participants indicated that human body model feature assistance helped describe their physical condition. These results help us understand user behavior in the symptom checker interface and their sense of trust in the symptom checker, providing valuable insights for future design improvements.

Keywords: Symptom Checker, Usability, User Interface, User experience

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1004836

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