Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Mar 12, 2021
Date Accepted: Aug 1, 2021
Development of and Experiences with an Informational Website on Early Labor: A Qualitative User Involvement Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The period of regular contractions prior to 4 cm of cervical dilatation is often referred to as the “latent phase” or “early labor.” Women find it challenging to prepare for and cope with this phase of labor, and easily accessed web-based information from reliable sources may be useful in this preparation.
Objective:
The purpose of the present study was to describe the development of a website with information on early labor, and to explore users’ experiences with the website to increase user-friendliness.
Methods:
We developed a website using an iterative process involving a multidisciplinary research team, health personnel, users, a graphic designer, and an expert in software development. We explored user-friendliness using semi-structured individual interviews and the think aloud method; all interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. We thematically analyzed participants’ feedback on the website.
Results:
Participants were women (n=2) who had recently given birth to their first baby, women who were pregnant with their first baby (n=4), and partners (n=2). Results from participants’ experiences completing tasks include positive feedback related to the content of Latens.no; positive feedback related to the website’s design; and suggestions for improvement. Participants wanted to find information on early labor on the internet; moreover, they found the information on the website relevant, trustworthy, and easy to read, and the design attractive and easy to use. Overall, participants performed the tasks easily, with few clicks and minimal effort.
Conclusions:
Results indicate that an iterative development process had a positive effect on user satisfaction with the website.
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.