There has been increasing attention for e-learning technologies, including mobile apps, in health care education. Mobile apps can provide extendable learning environments and motivate students for adaptive and collaborative learning outside the classroom context [1,2]. However, mobile apps have small screen sizes and connectivity problems, and the context provides distractions for the user [3]. Developers of mobile apps need to ensure that apps are practical, effective, and easy to use [1]. Usability testing is important in app development in order to understand how mobile apps meet the needs of users [4]. According to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), usability is defined as “The extent to which a system, product, or service can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use” [5].

Usability methods, which are currently referred to in usability studies, involve laboratory experiments and field studies [1,6]. There are advantages and disadvantages for both methods. Laboratory experiments take place in a usability laboratory, where the test procedure is conducted in a controlled environment. In a laboratory, researchers can record user activity while they fulfil predefined tasks for later analysis [6], and they can control other irrelevant variables [3]. It is however not possible to test real-world problems (eg, only brief episodes of available time during clinical placement) or problems with internet connection. The expense of instruments and dedicated space make laboratory experiments more costly than other methods [6]. Field studies involve the collection of real-time data from users performing tasks in the real-world environment. In field studies, data about task flows, inefficiencies, and the organizational and physical environments are collected [6]. Field studies allow for data collection within the dynamic nature of the context, which is almost impossible to simulate in a laboratory experiment [1]. However, as users move around in field studies, data collection and conditions are difficult to control [1]. It can also be challenging to collect data in a precise and timely manner [7].

Usability attributes are features used to measure the quality of mobile apps [1]. The three most common usability attributes are effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction [3], and all three are part of the ISO standard for usability [5]. Other attributes are learnability, memorability, errors, simplicity, comprehensibility, and learning performance [7]. Selecting appropriate usability attributes depends on the nature of the e-learning technology and the research question of the usability study [7]. It is unclear which usability attributes are most relevant to mobile apps for health care students, although Sandars [8] highlighted the following four main domains for usability testing of e-learning: the learner, technological aspects (navigation, learnability, accessibility, consistency, and visual design), instructional design aspects (interactivity, content and resources, media use, and learning strategy design), and the context.

Previous reviews on usability methods examined usability testing in general [9] or usability specifically related to mobile apps [3,6,7,10]. Only one systematic review specifically explored the usability of mobile learning apps [1], although it did not include studies from health care education. Thus, there is a need for an overview of studies reporting on usability evaluations of mobile apps related to health care education. The aim of this study is to perform a scoping review of usability methods and attributes reported in usability studies of mobile apps for health care education.

A scoping review summarizes and disseminates research findings to describe the breadth and range of research in a particular topic or field [11-13]. To address the objectives of this scoping review, we will follow the framework for scoping reviews developed by Arksey & O’Malley [11], which was further developed by Levac et al [12] and Kahlil et al [13]. We will adopt the following five stages of this framework: (1) identifying the research question; (2) identifying relevant studies; (3) selecting studies; (4) charting the data; and (5) summarizing and reporting the results [11-13]. A detailed presentation of each step is provided below. This scoping review will also follow the PRISMA-ScR checklist for reporting scoping reviews [14].

This protocol for a scoping review does not require ethical approval or consent to participate. The data consist of data from published articles and do not include individual data.

The increasing acceptability and use of mobile apps in the health care education context can lead to improved learning outcomes. However, in order to make learning tools relevant to students, mobile apps must meet the expectations of users [4]. To our knowledge, no overview exists on usability studies of mobile apps for health care education. The results of this scoping review will provide valuable information to developers of mobile apps for health care education, as it will point to relevant usability methods and attributes. Furthermore, the review will identify areas where further research is needed.

A strength of this study is the broad search strategy. We searched ten different databases, and the search strategy was designed in collaboration with a research librarian and was peer reviewed by another research librarian. The search has a time restriction from 2008, but no language restriction. The time restriction was set from 2008, as mobile apps appeared in 2008. A broad search strategy may be associated with lower precision, making it challenging to retrieve relevant articles. We did however experience some challenges with the initial database searches. The authors and research librarians had little experience with databases in academic areas outside health care (eg, Engineering Village and Scopus). “Usability” was not used as a term in the search strategy, as studies on usability do not necessarily refer to or use the term usability. Designing an effective search strategy that balances sensitivity and precision was demanding. Consequently, the search was challenging to narrow, and the search yielded 14,297 unique hits. To ensure that members of the review team had a similar understanding of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, efforts were made to calibrate our screening. Reporting methodological rigor and transparency in a scoping review is of importance to the trustworthiness of the research [24]. Publishing a protocol of the scoping review will support the transparency of the methodology and will assist in the conduction of the scoping review. Following the reporting guidelines for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) [14] will help ensure the methodological quality of the scoping review.

This scoping review will advance the field of mobile app development for health care education by presenting advice on the relevant usability methods and attributes to study. It will give an overview of the field and provide researchers and developers with relevant and important information on the usability research area, including highlighting possible research gaps.