Quality Evaluation Framework For Ethiopian Healthcare Websites

Abstract

Website becomes an important tool for organizations to put their product online. Similarly, in healthcare organizations it allows to serve their patients online as well as to deliver information. In Ethiopia, healthcare providers have websites even though the usages of the website by end users are not become familiar due to their perception on quality of the existing website. The main objective of this study was to develop a website quality evaluation framework for Ethiopian healthcare organizations which is used as guidelines for developers of healthcare website in Ethiopia. In order to develop the framework an extensive literature study was done on quality models, design guidelines, accessibility guidelines to identify characteristics, sub-characteristics and quality indicators. The proposed framework contains six characteristics (functional suitability, operability, reliability, content, service and performance efficiency) arranged hierarchically along with sub-characteristics and indicators. The proposed framework was tested on three Ethiopian healthcare providers’ website as case study using questionnaire prepared from the quality indicators identified in the proposed framework and proved as it is effective to measure Ethiopian healthcare website from patients’ end users than the ISO/IEC 25010 quality evaluation model. Even though, the framework was proved as it is effective than other evaluation models the result of case study showed that further study required on easy of changing language, search and newsgroup quality indicators. The result of case study showed that, the overall qualities of available Ethiopian healthcare provider’s website are below moderate quality level.