A Digital Platform for Respiratory Rehabilitation in Patients with post-COVID19: Design and Usability Evaluation

This article presents the outcome of creating a usable digital platform for therapeutic education in respiratory rehabilitation. The platform has been developed to address the growing need for remote rehabilitation services, particularly in the context of respiratory conditions following COVID-19. It provides therapeutic education and supports self-rehabilitation sessions, catering to the needs of patients while also assisting in the training and education of healthcare professionals and students in the field of respiratory rehabilitation.The design process followed a user-centered approach, incorporating inputs from rehabilitation therapy experts and collaborative meetings with representatives from educational institutions. Through a comprehensive analysis of requirements, the platform's functionalities were defined, resulting in a set of clear and precise functional and non-functional requirements. The platform was designed as a progressive web application (PWA) with responsive design for compatibility across multiple devices. It incorporates informative error messages and robust data encryption for user security.The platform consists of different modules: one for users or patients conducting self-rehabilitation, medical specialists and/or students, organization administrators, and the platform administrator. Each module offers specific functionalities tailored to the respective users' needs. Patients can register, access therapeutic educational materials, perform rehabilitation exercises, and track their progress. Medical specialists and students have tools to review and edit patient records, create rehabilitation plans, and monitor their progress. Organization administrators can manage users and evaluate platform usage, while the platform administrator oversees system management, parameterization, and maintenance.The platform's interface design emphasizes simplicity, effectiveness, and ease of use. Patients can easily navigate through welcome screens, access rehabilitation plans, view exercise videos, and generate progress reports. Medical specialists and students have intuitive interfaces to create rehabilitation plans, add new exercises, review patient records, and access comprehensive reports for monitoring progress. Multimedia elements, including videos, enhance the effectiveness of rehabilitation exercises.The platform's data model effectively captures information about organizations, patients, medical specialists, exercises, and evaluations. The navigation model facilitates intuitive interaction and efficient task completion. In addition to the design, this article also presents the implementation of usability testing.To evaluate the platform's usability, a protocol proposed by Abhay Rautela was followed, accompanied by the use of the Computer System Usability Questionnaire (CSUQ). The evaluation involved a group of participants who performed tasks relevant to their roles as physiatrists or patients. The CSUQ was used to collect feedback and assess user satisfaction. The results of the usability evaluation will be discussed, providing insights into the platform's strengths and areas for improvement.