Presentation
PS15 - Usability Considerations for Enhancing Exercise-Based Injury Prevention Interventions
DescriptionTopic:
Our study centers around the importance of usability and usability testing in the context of exercise interventions, specifically focusing on a newly developed injury prevention program for female handball players. Despite the proven effectiveness of exercise programs in reducing injuries, adherence to these programs remains a challenge, and injury rates have not decreased significantly. The research highlights the relative absence of usability assessments, typically used in technology-based products, in the field of health and exercise interventions and explores the application of usability testing to assess the usability of exercise interventions. The study employed a modified usability questionnaire, including items for the widely used System Usability Scale (SUS), to evaluate important program characteristics (e.g. learnability, enjoyability, perceived effectiveness, ease of use, and efficiency). The results indicate that perceived effectiveness, enjoyability, and efficiency affects intention to use the program. However, the SUS items did not seem to affect intention to use. Interviews with coaches and players support these findings, additionally emphasizing the importance of program flexibility in implementation. Our findings underscores the potential significance of considering program characteristics and usability in the development of effective injury prevention programs and the need for developing a usability assessment tool specific to exercise interventions.
Application:
The findings from this study can be applied to the design and development of exercise interventions, particularly in the context of injury prevention. By considering factors like program effectiveness, enjoyability, and efficiency, developers can create interventions that are more user-friendly and attractive to the target audience. The focus on usability and user satisfaction can directly contribute to higher adherence rates in exercise programs. By tailoring programs to meet user expectations and preferences, individuals may be more likely to stick to their exercise routines, ultimately reaping the intended health and injury prevention benefits. The application of this research extends to various fields, including exercise interventions, sports, healthcare, and behavioral interventions, with a central focus on designing programs that users find effective, enjoyable, and user-friendly.
Background:
The rationale for this study was to advance the understanding of what program characteristics affects uptake and use, and how usability and usability testing can enhance the implementation of exercise interventions, thereby improving their effectiveness and user acceptance. The primary motivation is the observed problem of low adherence to exercise interventions and the challenges of implementing evidence-based interventions outside research settings. While exercise programs have proven effective in preventing and treating injuries, many individuals struggle to consistently adhere to these programs. This lack of adherence limits the potential benefits of these interventions. The specific focus on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in female athletes engaged in pivoting sports is driven by the recognition that ACL injuries remain a significant concern in this population. Despite the existence of injury prevention programs with documented effectiveness, the prevalence of ACL injuries has not significantly decreased. This suggests a need for innovative approaches to enhance program adherence and effectiveness. Usability testing is seen as a critical factor in product development, and its application to exercise interventions is a novel approach. The goal of exercise intervention development is to create exercise programs that are not only effective but also user-friendly and satisfying for the target audience. The incorporation of behavioral theories like the Self-Determination Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior provides a theoretical framework for understanding the factors that influence individual engagement in behavior change, including injury prevention and rehabilitation. These theories offer guidance on how intrinsic motivation, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control can affect participation in these programs. Additionally, the identified barriers and facilitators to program implementation in previous studies, such as program design, exercises, and learnability, offer valuable insights. Usability assessments are seen as a method to identify and address these barriers, and will ultimately improve the implementation rates of injury prevention programs in sports.
Overview of presentation:
Background. Although exercise programs have been proven effective in reducing injuries, adherence remains low and the number of injuries are not decreasing. Usability and usability testing is seen as a critical factor in product development, and its application to exercise interventions is a novel approach. The aim of this study was to assess the usability of a newly developed injury prevention program.
Methods. A questionnaire for assessing usability was distributed to the intervention group in the beginning and end of the intervention period. The questionnaire was made based on the System Usability Scale, behavioral theories and existing literature on facilitators and barriers for program uptake and implementation, addressing five hypothesized constructs: learnability, enjoyability, perceived effectiveness, ease of use, and efficiency. Additionally, semi-structured interviews with both coaches and a subset of players were conducted post intervention.
Results. Twenty-two female handball players, aged 16 to 18, responded to the usability questionnaire. Paired sample’s t-test on the total usability scale score revealed a significant difference between pre and post intervention responses, indicating that overall usability decreased over time (p < 0.005). Perceived effectiveness, enjoyability and efficiency were significantly correlated with intention to use the program (rho 0.50, p = 0.02, rho 0.50, p= 0.02, rho 0.65, p < 0.001, respectively), indicating that program adherence is affected by whether they believe the program will work and enjoy performing it, and how much time it takes. Semi-structured interviews with coaches (n=4) and players (n=6) supported these findings. However, the coaches did not find enjoyability an important factor for program adherence. Instead, these interviews indicated that program flexibility is an important factor for implementation.
Conclusion. Perceived effectiveness, enjoyability, flexibility and efficiency seems important for program adherence, and usability assessments of exercise interventions can be an efficient way to assess implementation likelihood and identify barriers to program use.
Important message and takeaway points:
The study revolves around the critical role of usability in improving the implementation of exercise interventions, particularly injury prevention programs. It emphasizes that the perceived effectiveness, enjoyability, and efficiency of these programs significantly influence their intention to use the program. Usability assessments are underlined as an efficient means to evaluate implementation likelihood and to identify barriers to program use. Additionally, the study highlights the significance of program flexibility in successful implementation.
Key Takeaway Points:
Low Adherence Challenges: Despite the effectiveness of exercise programs in reducing injuries, low adherence rates persist, and injury numbers remain high, especially in the context of injury prevention among athletes.
Usability in Exercise Interventions: Usability and usability testing, traditionally associated with technology-based products, seem valuable in enhancing the effectiveness and user acceptance of exercise interventions. This approach is underutilized in the realm of health and exercise.
Usability Assessment: Usability assessments can efficiently evaluate the usability of exercise interventions by identifying barriers to program uptake and long-term use. A questionnaire was used in this study, focusing on learnability, enjoyability, perceived effectiveness, ease of use, and efficiency.
Usability Impacts Adherence: The research findings indicate that intention to use the program is significantly influenced by the perceived effectiveness, enjoyability, and efficiency of the program. Users are more likely to adhere if they believe in the program's effectiveness, enjoy participating in it, and find it time-efficient.
Coach and Player Perspectives: Semi-structured interviews with coaches and players supported the survey findings. Coaches emphasized program flexibility as an important factor for implementation, while they did not consider enjoyability as crucial.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the study suggests that perceived program effectiveness, enjoyability, flexibility, and efficiency are pivotal for program adherence. The study underscores the value of usability assessments in evaluating the likelihood of program implementation and in identifying barriers to program use, ultimately contributing to the design of more effective and user-friendly exercise programs.
Our study centers around the importance of usability and usability testing in the context of exercise interventions, specifically focusing on a newly developed injury prevention program for female handball players. Despite the proven effectiveness of exercise programs in reducing injuries, adherence to these programs remains a challenge, and injury rates have not decreased significantly. The research highlights the relative absence of usability assessments, typically used in technology-based products, in the field of health and exercise interventions and explores the application of usability testing to assess the usability of exercise interventions. The study employed a modified usability questionnaire, including items for the widely used System Usability Scale (SUS), to evaluate important program characteristics (e.g. learnability, enjoyability, perceived effectiveness, ease of use, and efficiency). The results indicate that perceived effectiveness, enjoyability, and efficiency affects intention to use the program. However, the SUS items did not seem to affect intention to use. Interviews with coaches and players support these findings, additionally emphasizing the importance of program flexibility in implementation. Our findings underscores the potential significance of considering program characteristics and usability in the development of effective injury prevention programs and the need for developing a usability assessment tool specific to exercise interventions.
Application:
The findings from this study can be applied to the design and development of exercise interventions, particularly in the context of injury prevention. By considering factors like program effectiveness, enjoyability, and efficiency, developers can create interventions that are more user-friendly and attractive to the target audience. The focus on usability and user satisfaction can directly contribute to higher adherence rates in exercise programs. By tailoring programs to meet user expectations and preferences, individuals may be more likely to stick to their exercise routines, ultimately reaping the intended health and injury prevention benefits. The application of this research extends to various fields, including exercise interventions, sports, healthcare, and behavioral interventions, with a central focus on designing programs that users find effective, enjoyable, and user-friendly.
Background:
The rationale for this study was to advance the understanding of what program characteristics affects uptake and use, and how usability and usability testing can enhance the implementation of exercise interventions, thereby improving their effectiveness and user acceptance. The primary motivation is the observed problem of low adherence to exercise interventions and the challenges of implementing evidence-based interventions outside research settings. While exercise programs have proven effective in preventing and treating injuries, many individuals struggle to consistently adhere to these programs. This lack of adherence limits the potential benefits of these interventions. The specific focus on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in female athletes engaged in pivoting sports is driven by the recognition that ACL injuries remain a significant concern in this population. Despite the existence of injury prevention programs with documented effectiveness, the prevalence of ACL injuries has not significantly decreased. This suggests a need for innovative approaches to enhance program adherence and effectiveness. Usability testing is seen as a critical factor in product development, and its application to exercise interventions is a novel approach. The goal of exercise intervention development is to create exercise programs that are not only effective but also user-friendly and satisfying for the target audience. The incorporation of behavioral theories like the Self-Determination Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior provides a theoretical framework for understanding the factors that influence individual engagement in behavior change, including injury prevention and rehabilitation. These theories offer guidance on how intrinsic motivation, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control can affect participation in these programs. Additionally, the identified barriers and facilitators to program implementation in previous studies, such as program design, exercises, and learnability, offer valuable insights. Usability assessments are seen as a method to identify and address these barriers, and will ultimately improve the implementation rates of injury prevention programs in sports.
Overview of presentation:
Background. Although exercise programs have been proven effective in reducing injuries, adherence remains low and the number of injuries are not decreasing. Usability and usability testing is seen as a critical factor in product development, and its application to exercise interventions is a novel approach. The aim of this study was to assess the usability of a newly developed injury prevention program.
Methods. A questionnaire for assessing usability was distributed to the intervention group in the beginning and end of the intervention period. The questionnaire was made based on the System Usability Scale, behavioral theories and existing literature on facilitators and barriers for program uptake and implementation, addressing five hypothesized constructs: learnability, enjoyability, perceived effectiveness, ease of use, and efficiency. Additionally, semi-structured interviews with both coaches and a subset of players were conducted post intervention.
Results. Twenty-two female handball players, aged 16 to 18, responded to the usability questionnaire. Paired sample’s t-test on the total usability scale score revealed a significant difference between pre and post intervention responses, indicating that overall usability decreased over time (p < 0.005). Perceived effectiveness, enjoyability and efficiency were significantly correlated with intention to use the program (rho 0.50, p = 0.02, rho 0.50, p= 0.02, rho 0.65, p < 0.001, respectively), indicating that program adherence is affected by whether they believe the program will work and enjoy performing it, and how much time it takes. Semi-structured interviews with coaches (n=4) and players (n=6) supported these findings. However, the coaches did not find enjoyability an important factor for program adherence. Instead, these interviews indicated that program flexibility is an important factor for implementation.
Conclusion. Perceived effectiveness, enjoyability, flexibility and efficiency seems important for program adherence, and usability assessments of exercise interventions can be an efficient way to assess implementation likelihood and identify barriers to program use.
Important message and takeaway points:
The study revolves around the critical role of usability in improving the implementation of exercise interventions, particularly injury prevention programs. It emphasizes that the perceived effectiveness, enjoyability, and efficiency of these programs significantly influence their intention to use the program. Usability assessments are underlined as an efficient means to evaluate implementation likelihood and to identify barriers to program use. Additionally, the study highlights the significance of program flexibility in successful implementation.
Key Takeaway Points:
Low Adherence Challenges: Despite the effectiveness of exercise programs in reducing injuries, low adherence rates persist, and injury numbers remain high, especially in the context of injury prevention among athletes.
Usability in Exercise Interventions: Usability and usability testing, traditionally associated with technology-based products, seem valuable in enhancing the effectiveness and user acceptance of exercise interventions. This approach is underutilized in the realm of health and exercise.
Usability Assessment: Usability assessments can efficiently evaluate the usability of exercise interventions by identifying barriers to program uptake and long-term use. A questionnaire was used in this study, focusing on learnability, enjoyability, perceived effectiveness, ease of use, and efficiency.
Usability Impacts Adherence: The research findings indicate that intention to use the program is significantly influenced by the perceived effectiveness, enjoyability, and efficiency of the program. Users are more likely to adhere if they believe in the program's effectiveness, enjoy participating in it, and find it time-efficient.
Coach and Player Perspectives: Semi-structured interviews with coaches and players supported the survey findings. Coaches emphasized program flexibility as an important factor for implementation, while they did not consider enjoyability as crucial.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the study suggests that perceived program effectiveness, enjoyability, flexibility, and efficiency are pivotal for program adherence. The study underscores the value of usability assessments in evaluating the likelihood of program implementation and in identifying barriers to program use, ultimately contributing to the design of more effective and user-friendly exercise programs.
Event Type
Poster Presentation
TimeTuesday, March 264:45pm - 6:15pm CDT
LocationSalon C
Digital Health
Simulation and Education
Hospital Environments
Medical and Drug Delivery Devices
Patient Safety Research and Initiatives