Healthcare decisions based on the best available research are crucial for ensuring high quality patient care, optimal health outcomes and quality and safety in health care systems. Healthcare challenges in low-middle income countries (LMICs) have been the focus of many digital or ehealth initiatives that have aimed to improve both the access and the quality of healthcare delivery. Digital interventions have been identified as useful public health tool, particularly in LMICs. A wealth of research evidence is available from developed countries; however much less attention has been paid to how to scale up digital knowledge translation tools to be used by people in LMICs can use it.
The objective of this research project was to augment digital art and story-based KT tools developed for Canadian parents on acute otitis media (AOM) for parents in Pakistan, a LMIC. In this paper we have presented the usability evaluation conducted to evaluate the usefulness and effectiveness of the digital KT tools for use by parents in Pakistan.
A mixed-methods design (quantitative survey and qualitative focus groups) were used to evaluate the usability of translated digital arts-based KT tools for pediatric AOM. Participants were recruited from a private hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. A total of 47 parents completed the survey forms and 21 parents participated in focus group interviews.
The usability evaluation of translated digital tools revealed that both of the KT tools (whiteboard video and infographic) are useful and effective in communicating health information to parents. Parents reported that the tools are very usable and they preferred receiving health information in a narrative form in their own language through digital media. This study identified that culturally adapted translated digital KT tools are better than traditional format in transferring health information to parents.
Cultural adaptation of the KT tools generated important knowledge that will contribute to the science of KT. Scaling up of digital KT tools for use in a different culture provide the necessary leadership to enable innovative solutions to reach patients and their families in LMICs and can change the trajectory of child health globally.