Exploring international students' needs and experiences with an online symptom checker in Finland

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Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Perustieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis

Authors

Date

2024-01-22

Department

Major/Subject

Human-Computer Interaction

Mcode

SCI3097

Degree programme

Master’s Programme in Computer, Communication and Information Sciences

Language

en

Pages

53 + 7

Series

Abstract

Seeking guidance about health problems using digital health services has been an increasingly common phenomenon. Improved usability of online symptom checkers contributes to higher user acceptability and satisfaction. People from different countries have experiences and preferences varying with culture. However, concerns and needs of international students in Finland who are a young and highly educated group, but live in linguistically and culturally diverse contexts remain open for investigation. Thus, this study aimed to explore international students' needs and experiences in Finland with online symptom checkers. For this purpose, we conducted an exploratory case study about the Klinik Access symptom checker, and recruited six participants from several countries. In the usability testings, we adopted multiply data collection methods, including observation, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The collected quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis and open coding method. As a result, we evaluated perceived usability using System Usability Scale (SUS), observed issues and perceptions on interface design. We summarized the facilitating and inhibiting factors affecting the use by international students. Based on the findings above, eight design suggestions were finally concluded. This will help to further optimize the design and development of services to make them more universally usable and more accessible to everyone.

Description

Supervisor

Kujala, Sari

Thesis advisor

Kujala, Sari

Keywords

online symptom checker, digital healthcare services, usability testing, cross-culture design

Other note

Citation

Permanent link to this item

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202401282104

Collections

[dipl] Perustieteiden korkeakoulu / SCI