An Application of Audience Analysis
in Web-based
Health Information System Design
Jennifer Turns, Ph.D.
Acting Assistant Professor,
Technical Communication
Faculty Affiliate
Program for Educational Transformation through Technology (PETTT)
Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching (CELT)
Acknowledgements: This work has been supported by the Program for Educational Transformation through Technology (PETTT). Many
people have contributed to this work including Scott Macklin, Tracey Wagner, Aaron Louie, Brett Shelton, Kristina Liu, Alice Tanada,
Jake Burghardt, Julianne Fondiller, Regina Yap, Ralph Warren, and Dr. Frederick Matsen.
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Today’s Goal
Provide a comprehensive account of the audience
analysis for the “Arthritis Source”
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Background
Approach
Results
Implications
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Arthritis Source
• Developed in 1995 by
Dr. Frederick Matsen
• Focus on arthritis
• Authorized information
• User-centered information
• Research test bed
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
History of the Arthritis Source
Design
‘00
1995
Audience
Analysis
‘01
‘02
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Talk 1 – First Steps
‘00
1995
‘01
‘02
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Talk 2 – Listening to Learners
‘00
1995
‘01
‘02
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Talk 3 –Designing for Learners at Large
‘00
1995
‘01
‘02
Background - Approach - Results - Implications
Talk 4 – Audience Analysis
‘00
1995
‘01
‘02
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Web-based Health Information
• Significant use already exists
• Opportunities
• Challenges…
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Site quality
Information quality
Findability of information
Evaluation Methods
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Focusing on Audience Analysis
• Inform our own design and evaluation
• Contribute to broader discussion
– Design
– Evaluations
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Audience Analysis
• What categories?
– Inform design
– Theoretical foundation
– Speak to team
• What methods?
– Empirical tradition
– Balance breadth and
depth
– Acknowledge
distributed users
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Multidisciplinary Influences
• Categories
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Roles
Goals
Knowledge
Circumstances of Use
Culture
Ergonomics
• Theoretical Perspectives
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Technical Communication
Reader Response Theory
Cognitive Science
Constuctivism
Distributed Intelligence
Situated cognition
Socio-Cultural Theory
Human Factors
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Defining Categories
• Role – Dominant persona of users (job, affiliation)
• Goals – Reason for the interaction
• Knowledge – The extent and nature of prior relevant knowledge
• Circumstances of Use – Setting, resources, strategy, timing
• Culture – Group level beliefs, language, preferences
• Ergonomics – Relevant perceptual & motor abilities, skills
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Method – Online Survey
• Questions: Adaptive, ~25 questions
• Participants:
– Duration: 9/1/2000 – 7/2/2001 (10 months)
– 472 respondents / 710 starts
• Analyses1 –
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Descriptive Statistics
Content Analysis
Qualitative Coding
Statistical Analysis
1Acknowledgments:
Tracey Wagner, Kristina Liu, Alice Tanada, Kristen Schuyler
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Method - Phone Interview
About Visit
About Knowledge of Condition
• Could you tell me about your
visit or visits to the Arthritis
Source?
• Could you tell me what you
were trying to do when you
visited the Arthritis Source?
• Did you benefit from your visit
or visits to the Arthritis Source?
• What kind of information do
you think other arthritis patients
should know?
• Could you tell me what you think
arthritis is in general?
• Could you tell me how RA/OA
affects the body?
• Do you know what contributes to
getting RA/OA?
• Do you know how RA/OA is
diagnosed? If no, Do you
remember what your doctor told
you about your diagnosis?
• What is most difficult to
understand about RA/OA?
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Phone Interview
• Participants – 20 users (10 OA, 10 RA)
• Analyses1
– Conceptions/misconceptions
– Overarching Goals
– Specific Information Needs
1Acknowledgments:
Tracey Wagner, Kristina Liu
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Mapping Data to Categories
Data and Sources
Online Survey
Visitor Type
Age
Home Community
Geographical Area
Type of Arthritis
Level of Education
Time since diagnosis
Name of Condition
Why visiting
Came in from
Use of site in past
Sources of information
Phone Interview
Knowledge of Condition
Goals
Specific Information Needs
Role
Goals
XXX
X
Circumstances of
Knowledge
Use
XX
X
X
X
X
X
XX
X
X
XX
XX
X
XX
XX
XX
X
XXX
XX
X
XXX
XXX
XXX
Culture
Ergonomics
X
XX
XX
XX
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Results - Overview
• Role
• Goals
• Knowledge
• Circumstances of Use
• Culture
• Ergonomic
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Roles
• Users with many roles
Other
20%
Student
1%
– Person with pain
– Person with condition
that is not arthritis
– Person who is
exploring whether they
have arthritis
Researcher
2%
Medical
Professional
5%
Relation
10%
n=462/472
• Cross-over roles
• “Person with arthritis”
is too simplistic…
Person with
Arthritis
62%
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Knowledge
• Educational spread
Doctorate
5%
Masters
15%
Secondary
35%
Bachelors
22%
Associates
23%
n=399/472
• Misconceptions
– Low bone density is
associated with Osteoarthritis
– Bone spurs cause arthritic
pain
– Joint injections are helpful
– There is little you can do
– (and 3 others)
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Goals
• “Why visiting” (n=433) • Other Insights
– Condition information (54%)
– Ways to minimize pain (7%)
– Seek clarification or a second
opinion on diagnoses (5%)
– Desire to better control
arthritis condition (2.5%)
– Preparing for surgery (5%)
– …
– Social/emotional support
(online survey analysis)
– Great variety of specific
information needs
(phone interview analysis)
– Ghost information needs
(phone interview analysis)
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Culture
• International Use
• Use across regions
Other
3%
International
19%
Rural
26%
Urban
29%
North America
81%
n=408/472
Suburban
42%
n=403/472
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Circumstances of Use
• Coming from…
Bookmark
7%
0.8
Percentage
Website
22%
Referred by
6%
0.6
0.4
0.2
Other
Print media
Internet
Groups
Brochures
Books
0
n=372/472
Journals
Search Engine
47%
n=433/472
1
Websites
Other
18%
• One of many sources
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Ergonomics
Percentage
• Vision issues
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
• Motor issues
21% over 60
18- 3130 40
41- 51- 6150 60 70
Age
n=408/472
71- 81+
80
18 different types of arthritis
Arthritis Condition
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Arthrospondylopathy
Degenerative Joint Disease
fibromyalgia
glenohumeral arthritis
Gout
Lupus
Lyme related
lumbar stenosis
Osteoarthritis
Polymyalgia Rheumatica
Psoriatic arthritis
Reiter's Syndrome
Reynauds
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Sjogren's Syndrome
spondyloarthropathy
scleroderma
Don't know/ Not sure
#
Respondents
14
1
8
13
1
17
4
1
1
69
16
12
3
1
33
8
1
1
6
n=234
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Future Audience Research
• Still Analyzing
– Persona / Profiles
• Gain additional insight
– Space of information needs
– Circumstances of use
– Cultural Issues
• Implications?
#1 - Aggregating questions
from varied of information
sources.
#2 Studying use over time
through user online
journaling
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Design Implications
• Accessibility
• Adapting to knowledge levels
• Supporting goals (finding/using content)
• Addressing misconceptions
• Support evolving content
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Evaluation Implications
• Site quality
– Vision
– Cultural issues
• Comprehensiveness
– Information for user-centered perspective
• Judging Site vs. Judging Impact
– Multiple candidate types of “success”
Background - Approach – Results - Implications
Concluding Remarks
• Audience analysis of web-based health information
• Arthritis Source Directions
– Dynamically generated, template-based content
– Question-driven navigation
• Audience Analysis
– Contributes to conversation on Internet health information
– Case study for TC students/professionals
– Challenges in audience analysis
Areas of Interest/Activity
• Supporting Communication
– Developing a website to document teaching challenges (NSF Proposal)
– Studying design team use of communication tools (Ph.D. Work)
• Studying the Processes of Communication
– Empirical analysis of team communication behaviors (Opportunity)
• The Interplay of Communication and Learning
– Reflective Learner, Writing to learn, Scaffolding writing (Ph.D. Work)
• Professional Practice in Technical Communication
– Assessing how designers scope design problems (Extension)
– Characterizing student ability to behave as reflective practitioners (Extension)
Web-based Health Information
• Site quality
– Owner credentials, update dates (Hoffman, 2000)
• Quality of information
– Comprehensiveness (e.g., Chen, 2000)
– Accuracy (e.g., Chen, 2000)
– Providing references (e.g., Hellawell, 2000)
• Findability of information
– Time required (e.g., Gotwald, 2000)
– Getting to real questions (e.g., Lechner, 1996)
• Need for evaluation methods
– (e.g., Wu, 2000, Delamsthe, 2000, Charatan, 1999)