Currently submitted to: JMIR Human Factors
Date Submitted: Jan 29, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Feb 24, 2026 - Apr 21, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Black Medical Students Association of Canada website evaluation
ABSTRACT
Background:
In Canada, Black students continue to be underrepresented in medical schools and face institutional barriers, including limited access to the information necessary for their admission and their academic path. The Black Medical Students Association of Canada (BMSAC) has developed a bilingual website for these students.
Objective:
The purpose of this research is to evaluate the quality, accessibility and usefulness of the site and make recommendations for its improvement.
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey was conducted through an online system using the System Usability Scale (SUS), a validated website user experience evaluation tool. Three open-ended questions were added to the survey to identify areas for improvement. The data from the SUS were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the answers to the questions underwent thematic analysis.
Results:
50 participants responded to the survey (24 in English and 26 in French). The overall SUS score was 75.8. The SUS scores for the English and French versions were 77.0 and 74.7, respectively. More than three quarters of respondents lived in Quebec. Respondents learned more about the available resources and recommended including more images illustrating organized events on the site.
Conclusions:
The overall SUS score and that of English and French respondents were considered satisfactory. The lack of visual support, updated information and some technical problems seemingly explain these results. Strong Quebec representation also indicates the need to promote the site elsewhere in Canada.
Citation
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