EASA Connections: Using online modules to support individuals with early psychosis created by individuals with early psychosis
Ryan Melton1; 1Portland State University
The Early Assessment and Support Alliance (EASA) program is an early intervention program for youth experiencing psychosis for the first time in Oregon, USA. The EASA Connections project is lead by young adult graduates of the EASA program, and developed a series of online modules to help new EASA participants feel more engaged in the program and more hopeful about their future. The modules integrate videos with messaging from graduates of EASA, psychoeducation, and self-directed tools intended to reduce internalized stigma, increase hopefulness and focus the treatment process on social connections and community participation. In order to ensure that the web site interface for the modules, and the module content, is usable and acceptable, we conducted a small usability study that unit tests the components of the intervention. The goal of this study was to obtain feedback on usability in order to improve the intervention materials. The study followed a protocol for software usability testing, where participants attempted to complete a series of tasks. Metrics on the tasks covered 1) whether the task could be completed; 2) how long it took to complete the task; 3) observational notes for each task; 4) participant comments. Tasks involved both site navigation (e.g., finding a particular page) and site comprehension (e.g., being able to paraphrase the content on a particular page). We conducted the usability test four times, to cover the five different web-based modules for the intervention, and to see whether changes made based on the prior usability test were effective.
Topic Area: Service System Development and Reform