Website usability analysis of United States emergency medicine residencies

Abstract

Objectives: The Council of Residency Directors (CORD) in Emergency Medicine (EM) has recommended that all residency programs should conduct virtual interviews for the 2020 to 2021 application cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While factors such as geographical region, city, program size, or hospital affiliation are not modifiable, EM residencies can bridge the information gap created by a lack of face-to-face interaction by representing themselves digitally. Measuring usability provides an objective method for EM residencies to improve their Web presence and effectively represent themselves to applicants. Methods: Our sample set included 55 U.S. EM residency program websites. Using methodology replicated from previous literature on health care website usability, we divided usability into four categories for quantifiable analysis: accessibility, marketing, content quality, and technology. Analysis was performed on each website and scored in all four categories. A "general usability" score was calculated for each website using a composite of the key factors within the four categories. Using a weighted percentage across all of the factors, an overall score was calculated.Results: Content quality was the overall highest scoring category (mean ± SD = 5.4, SE = 0.33). The overall lowest performing category was technology (mean ± SD = 0.8 ± 0.09, SE = 0.01). Conclusions:Measuring usability can help EM residency programs identify ways to improve their Web presence. To effectively promote their programs, residencies need quality content that communicates their key features. Our recommendation is for all residency programs to periodically perform website audits and apply the usability measures outlined to improve their digital presence, especially during times when face-to-face interactions will be limited.

Methodological Guidelines for Systematic Assessments of Health Care Websites Using Web Analytics: Tutorial

“…According to a recent Google study, a website that takes longer than 3 seconds to load on a mobile device loses approximately 53% of its users and the average mobile website speed is around 18 seconds [ 24 ]. This issue can be addressed simply by reducing conflicting technology on the back-end server [ 13 , 14 ]. As with the DAU/MAU ratio, web administrators must view this metric in the proper context.…”

“…Assessments of a website’s content can refer to the relevancy of information, the quality of multimedia content, and even grammar and spelling [ 13 , 14 ]. One of the most obvious reasons a website may not achieve its goals is its content not meeting the needs of users.…”

“…Concerning relevancy, the following questions should be posed: is a website’s information up to date and fact-driven, and does it provide answers people are seeking [ 13 , 14 ]? If the answer to any of these questions is no, users will not engage with a website.…”

“…Multimedia content can be evaluated by quantity and quality of resolution [ 13 , 14 ]. Seeking to further augment their content, websites can use multimedia to make their content more dynamic.…”

“…Studies have been conducted which evaluate usability in areas such as e-commerce, e-government, mobile news apps, and library websites [ 9 - 12 ]. More recently, there have been increasing usability studies focusing on websites within the health care sector, such as websites for emergency medicine residency programs, digital health care centers, hospitals, and cancer centers [ 13 - 16 ]. With the growing importance of website usability and the conversion rate in the health care sector, web analytics can provide health care stakeholders with an easily accessible tool to assist their evaluation of usability and measure conversion rate.…”