The development and usability testing of two digital knowledge translation tools for parents of children with urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are a common source of acute illness for infants and children. Approximately 7-8% of girls and 2% of boys will experience a UTI before they are 8 years old. UTIs may be difficult to identify and treat as symptoms in children are different from expected adult symptoms. A previously conducted systematic review identified four common information needs expressed by parents. More specifically, the research identified that parents had difficulty recognizing signs and symptoms of UTIs, felt disappointed by health care providers responses, needed timely and relevant information, and feared the unknown due to lack of UTI knowledge. This demonstrates that more effective knowledge translation tools are needed to satisfy parent information needs. The purpose of this research was to work with parents to develop and test the usability of an interactive infographic and video about UTIs in children. Prototypes were evaluated by parents through usability testing in two Alberta emergency department waiting rooms. Results were positive and overall, the tools were highly rated across all usability items, suggesting that arts-based digital tools are useful mediums for sharing health information with parents.