Data Visualizations to Support Health Practitioners' Provision of Personalized Care for Patients With Cancer and Multiple Chronic Conditions: User-Centered Design Study

Background: There exists a challenge of understanding and integrating various types of data collected to support the health of individuals with multiple chronic conditions engaging in cancer care. Data visualization has the potential to address this challenge and support personalized cancer care.

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the health care practitioners' perceptions of and feedback regarding visualizations developed to support the care of individuals with multiple chronic conditions engaging in cancer care.

Methods: Medical doctors (n=4) and registered nurses (n=4) providing cancer care at an academic medical center in the western United States provided feedback on visualization mock-ups. Mock-up designs were guided by current health informatics and visualization literature and the Munzner Nested Model for Visualization Design. User-centered design methods, a mock patient persona, and a scenario were used to elicit insights from participants. Directed content analysis was used to identify themes from session transcripts. Means and SDs were calculated for health care practitioners' rankings of overview visualizations.

Results: Themes identified were data elements, supportive elements, confusing elements, interpretation, and use of visualization. Overall, participants found the visualizations useful and with the potential to provide personalized care. Use of color, reference lines, and familiar visual presentations (calendars, line graphs) were noted as helpful in interpreting data.

Conclusions: Visualizations guided by a framework and literature can support health care practitioners' understanding of data for individuals with multiple chronic conditions engaged in cancer care. This understanding has the potential to support the provision of personalized care.