Download PDF
Appl Clin Inform 2023; 14(01): 153-163
DOI: 10.1055/a-2004-2304
Research Article

Evaluation of an Online Decision Aid for Selection of Contraceptive Methods

Molly Redman
1   College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
,
Jennifer Brian
2   Barrett, The Honors College, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
,
Dongwen Wang
1   College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
› Author Affiliations Funding The ASU Barrett Honors College provided funding support for this honors thesis research by the first author.
› Further Information
    Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Objectives Knowledge gaps in contraceptives led to their low adoption rates and misuse in young women. The existing online contraception decision aids missed certain decision factors deemed important to college-aged women and did not consistently provide clear and accurate recommendations. To address the needs of young women and the limitations in current tools, we developed a prototype contraception decision aid, My Contraceptive Choice (MCC). This article reports an evaluation study of the MCC tool.

Methods We conducted a mixed methods study: (1) to assess MCC's usefulness and usability through an online survey and a follow-up focus group, and (2) to provide a quantitative examination on the recommendations generated by MCC to match with individual user's needs and preferences through simulated test cases.

Results The survey of 150 college-aged women showed very positive responses (reflecting personal preferences, 75%; helping people learn more about birth control methods, 88%; easy to navigate, 91%). The follow-up focus group of 10 survey participants reconfirmed most findings from the survey and provided detailed feedback on certain system functions, such as the inclusion of an important decision factor of weight gain and the efficient hybrid design to integrate the customized recommendations with the side-by-side comparison of all contraceptive methods. Simulated test cases showed that the MCC tool achieved an accuracy of 72% in addressing user preferences and an accuracy of 72% in satisfying user needs, which were significantly better than the existing Planned Parenthood tool.

Conclusion The initial evaluations suggest that the MCC tool has achieved good levels of usefulness, usability, and appropriate recommendations to address user needs and preferences. Future research is required to assess the performance of the MCC tool in naturalistic settings and to examine the generalizability of the findings to other user populations.

Keywords

contraception - decision making - weight gain - women - focus group - survey

Protection of Human and Animal Subjects

The study was performed in compliance with the World Medical Association Declaration on Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects and was approved by the ASU IRB.




Publication History

Received: 24 August 2022

Accepted: 21 December 2022

Accepted Manuscript online:
28 December 2022

Article published online:
22 February 2023

© 2023. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany