The development and usability testing of two arts-based knowledge translation tools for pediatric asthma

Asthma is the most common chronic condition in children with an estimated 15% of children and youth living with asthma in Canada. Acute asthma exacerbations, or asthma attacks, are the main reason for children to seek emergency care, contributing to financial burdens for families and healthcare systems. This burden highlights opportunities to reduce health system costs and improve patient and family education. We worked with parents of children with asthma to develop and evaluate two digital knowledge translation (KT) tools on asthma. These tools merge the best available research evidence with narratives of parent experiences, and use art and engaging media (video and interactive infographic) to optimize uptake and appeal. Following prototype completion, usability testing was conducted among 60 parents (30 parents per tool) in an urban Alberta emergency department waiting room. Parents viewed the tools on an iPad and answered questions via an electronic survey. Usability was assessed based on nine items with responses on a five-point Likert scale from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree. Overall, results were positive and the tools were highly rated across most usability items. Mean scores across usability items were 4.13 to 4.63 for the video and 4.10 to 4.43 for the infographic. The scores from the usability testing suggest arts-based digital tools are useful in sharing complex health information with parents about the care of a child with asthma and provide meaningful guidance on how to improve KT tools to better reflect the needs of parents of children with asthma.