Delivering a Drug Information App to Underserved Communities: A User-Centered Design Approach

Two-thirds of the Sub-Saharan African population is rural and faces significant challenges accessing healthcare facilities and information. The mobile phone offers feasible opportunities to improve healthcare access to underserved communities. The study aims to develop an app for communities with limited access to health information. Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) was adopted. A three-cycle DSRM guided the development of a mHealth app using a user-centered design process involving potential users, from conceptualizing the idea to prototype evaluation. The methodology allows the researcher to empathize with the participants, consider their contextual and environmental circumstances and understand their needs better. The prototype provides access to information about known drugs, their known uses, side effects, organs affected, or the human system they affect. A total of 206 participants evaluated the app for its usefulness, efficiency, error handling, memorability, learnability, and design. Participants concluded that the app was usable, easy to learn, error-free, and useful through a mean score of 3.95 and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient range of 0.75 to 0.85. Policymakers and researchers may find the results helpful in improving mHealth adoption. Integrating the app with the broader e-health systems will offer more convenience and efficiency, as healthcare systems in Africa are largely manual.