"User Experiences of Spanish-Speaking Latinos with the Frontier Behavioral Health Website" - Page 10 of 17

by Raquel L. Dean | Xchanges 14.1, Spring 2019

📋 Contents

Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Test Goals and Objectives
Participants
Scenario and Test Tasks
Metrics
Results
Findings and Discussion
Conclusion
Limitations of Study
Recommendations for Future Research
References
Appendix A: Pre-Test Survey
Appendix B: Recruitment Email
Appendix C: Post-Test Interview
About the Author

Conclusion

Among technical communicators, it is a well-known fact that the organization and design of content requires careful attention and detail. Research continues to support that users blame themselves when they encounter a problem when using a product. When Shriver asked users who or what they blame, 63% stated that they blame themselves — a major problem which my study continues to support.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate how Spanish-speaking Latinos interacted with the Frontier Behavioral Health website. Through the data collected, I conclude that the majority of these users struggled to complete tasks in an efficient and effective way, due to design barriers the website poses. It is important to note that the users are not at fault—the way the information was designed and presented was what posed barriers to these users. My research suggests that if users were unable to find information efficiently, they became frustrated and gave up. Furthermore, when individuals were unable to locate the full menu, they were unable to navigate the website fully, often blaming themselves for the failure — one user even felt “stupid.”

Usability testing is crucial when designing a website, particularly one that delivers important mental health information to a diverse population of individuals. A part of Frontier Behavioral Health’s mission is to strive to “provide clinically and culturally appropriate behavioral healthcare and related services to people of all ages…” as well as make their “behavioral healthcare services timely, accessible, and barrier free.” Their website’s lack of usability contradicted this message. These users reflect an underrepresented population in mental health care. By continuing this research, technical communicators can educate mental health organizations on filling this gap, by ensuring that diverse communities are able to access information on websites with ease.

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