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, SariThesis advisor
Kujala, SariKeywords
online symptom checker, digital healthcare services, usability testing, cross-culture design