Evaluating the Acceptance and Usability of an Independent, Noncommercial Search Engine for Medical Information: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study and User Behavior Tracking Analysis
BackgroundThe internet is a key source of health information, but the quality of content from popular search engines varies, posing challenges for users—especially those with low health or digital health literacy. To address this, the “tala-med” search engine was developed in...
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| Format: | Article |
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JMIR Publications
2025-01-01
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| Series: | JMIR Human Factors |
| Online Access: | https://humanfactors.jmir.org/2025/1/e56941 |
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| author | Lisa Specht Raphael Scheible Martin Boeker Erik Farin-Glattacker Nikolas Kampel Marina Schmölz Andrea Schöpf-Lazzarino Stefan Schulz Christian Schlett Fabian Thomczyk Sebastian Voigt-Radloff Constanze Wegner Katharina Wollmann Andy Maun |
| author_facet | Lisa Specht Raphael Scheible Martin Boeker Erik Farin-Glattacker Nikolas Kampel Marina Schmölz Andrea Schöpf-Lazzarino Stefan Schulz Christian Schlett Fabian Thomczyk Sebastian Voigt-Radloff Constanze Wegner Katharina Wollmann Andy Maun |
| author_sort | Lisa Specht |
| collection | DOAJ |
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BackgroundThe internet is a key source of health information, but the quality of content from popular search engines varies, posing challenges for users—especially those with low health or digital health literacy. To address this, the “tala-med” search engine was developed in 2020 to provide access to high-quality, evidence-based content. It prioritizes German health websites based on trustworthiness, recency, user-friendliness, and comprehensibility, offering category-based filters while ensuring privacy by avoiding data collection and advertisements.
ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the acceptance and usability of this independent, noncommercial search engine from the users’ perspectives and their actual use of the search engine.
MethodsFor the questionnaire study, a cross-sectional study design was used. In total, 802 participants were recruited through a web-based panel and were asked to interact with the new search engine before completing a web-based questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses were used to assess participants’ acceptance and usability ratings, as well as predictors of acceptance. Furthermore, from October 2020 to June 2021, we used the open-source web analytics platform Matomo to collect behavior-tracking data from consenting users of the search engine.
ResultsThe study indicated positive findings on the acceptance and usability of the search engine, with more than half of the participants willing to reuse (465/802, 58%) and recommend it (507/802, 63.2%). Of the 802 users, 747 (93.1%) valued the absence of advertising. Furthermore, 92.3% (518/561), 93.9% (553/589), 94.7% (567/599), and 96.5% (600/622) of those users who used the filters agreed at least partially that the filter functions were helpful in finding trustworthy, recent, user-friendly, or comprehensible results. Participants criticized some of the search results regarding the selection of domains and shared ideas for potential improvements (eg, for a clearer design). Regression analyses showed that the search engine was especially well accepted among older users, frequent internet users, and those with lower educational levels, indicating an effective targeting of segments of the population with lower health literacy and digital health literacy. Tracking data analysis revealed 1631 sessions, comprising 3090 searches across 1984 unique terms. Users performed 1.64 (SD 1.31) searches per visit on average. They prioritized the search terms “corona,” “back pain,” and “cough.” Filter changes were common, especially for recency and trustworthiness, reflecting the importance that users placed on these criteria.
ConclusionsUser questionnaires and behavior tracking showed the platform was well received, particularly by older and less educated users, especially for its advertisement-free design and filtering system. While feedback highlighted areas for improvement in design and filter functionality, the search engine’s focus on transparency, evidence-based content, and user privacy shows promise in addressing health literacy and navigational needs. Future updates and research will further refine its effectiveness and impact on promoting access to quality health information. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7aad77e6c3af4e44ba61d398314bf0c8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2292-9495 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Human Factors |
| spelling | doaj-art-7aad77e6c3af4e44ba61d398314bf0c82025-01-23T17:30:57ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Human Factors2292-94952025-01-0112e5694110.2196/56941Evaluating the Acceptance and Usability of an Independent, Noncommercial Search Engine for Medical Information: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study and User Behavior Tracking AnalysisLisa Spechthttps://orcid.org/0009-0000-9095-3400Raphael Scheiblehttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2067-5569Martin Boekerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2972-2042Erik Farin-Glattackerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6867-0316Nikolas Kampelhttps://orcid.org/0009-0004-0629-0456Marina Schmölzhttps://orcid.org/0009-0000-2567-1933Andrea Schöpf-Lazzarinohttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4705-2938Stefan Schulzhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7222-3287Christian Schletthttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7237-3477Fabian Thomczykhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8863-9930Sebastian Voigt-Radloffhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2745-3328Constanze Wegnerhttps://orcid.org/0009-0008-3800-5815Katharina Wollmannhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7853-4967Andy Maunhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9213-6583 BackgroundThe internet is a key source of health information, but the quality of content from popular search engines varies, posing challenges for users—especially those with low health or digital health literacy. To address this, the “tala-med” search engine was developed in 2020 to provide access to high-quality, evidence-based content. It prioritizes German health websites based on trustworthiness, recency, user-friendliness, and comprehensibility, offering category-based filters while ensuring privacy by avoiding data collection and advertisements. ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the acceptance and usability of this independent, noncommercial search engine from the users’ perspectives and their actual use of the search engine. MethodsFor the questionnaire study, a cross-sectional study design was used. In total, 802 participants were recruited through a web-based panel and were asked to interact with the new search engine before completing a web-based questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses were used to assess participants’ acceptance and usability ratings, as well as predictors of acceptance. Furthermore, from October 2020 to June 2021, we used the open-source web analytics platform Matomo to collect behavior-tracking data from consenting users of the search engine. ResultsThe study indicated positive findings on the acceptance and usability of the search engine, with more than half of the participants willing to reuse (465/802, 58%) and recommend it (507/802, 63.2%). Of the 802 users, 747 (93.1%) valued the absence of advertising. Furthermore, 92.3% (518/561), 93.9% (553/589), 94.7% (567/599), and 96.5% (600/622) of those users who used the filters agreed at least partially that the filter functions were helpful in finding trustworthy, recent, user-friendly, or comprehensible results. Participants criticized some of the search results regarding the selection of domains and shared ideas for potential improvements (eg, for a clearer design). Regression analyses showed that the search engine was especially well accepted among older users, frequent internet users, and those with lower educational levels, indicating an effective targeting of segments of the population with lower health literacy and digital health literacy. Tracking data analysis revealed 1631 sessions, comprising 3090 searches across 1984 unique terms. Users performed 1.64 (SD 1.31) searches per visit on average. They prioritized the search terms “corona,” “back pain,” and “cough.” Filter changes were common, especially for recency and trustworthiness, reflecting the importance that users placed on these criteria. ConclusionsUser questionnaires and behavior tracking showed the platform was well received, particularly by older and less educated users, especially for its advertisement-free design and filtering system. While feedback highlighted areas for improvement in design and filter functionality, the search engine’s focus on transparency, evidence-based content, and user privacy shows promise in addressing health literacy and navigational needs. Future updates and research will further refine its effectiveness and impact on promoting access to quality health information.https://humanfactors.jmir.org/2025/1/e56941 |
| spellingShingle | Lisa Specht Raphael Scheible Martin Boeker Erik Farin-Glattacker Nikolas Kampel Marina Schmölz Andrea Schöpf-Lazzarino Stefan Schulz Christian Schlett Fabian Thomczyk Sebastian Voigt-Radloff Constanze Wegner Katharina Wollmann Andy Maun Evaluating the Acceptance and Usability of an Independent, Noncommercial Search Engine for Medical Information: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study and User Behavior Tracking Analysis JMIR Human Factors |
| title | Evaluating the Acceptance and Usability of an Independent, Noncommercial Search Engine for Medical Information: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study and User Behavior Tracking Analysis |
| title_full | Evaluating the Acceptance and Usability of an Independent, Noncommercial Search Engine for Medical Information: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study and User Behavior Tracking Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the Acceptance and Usability of an Independent, Noncommercial Search Engine for Medical Information: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study and User Behavior Tracking Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the Acceptance and Usability of an Independent, Noncommercial Search Engine for Medical Information: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study and User Behavior Tracking Analysis |
| title_short | Evaluating the Acceptance and Usability of an Independent, Noncommercial Search Engine for Medical Information: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study and User Behavior Tracking Analysis |
| title_sort | evaluating the acceptance and usability of an independent noncommercial search engine for medical information cross sectional questionnaire study and user behavior tracking analysis |
| url | https://humanfactors.jmir.org/2025/1/e56941 |
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