Refinement of the Prototype

Taking the results of the focus groups into considerations, two prototypes have been refined; one for Arabic speaking group and another for English speaking group. The followings are the changes that have been included in the two prototypes (Table 7 and 8). As shown in both tables, the following features were incorporated in the prototypes:

1. Under “background information about the patient”, it was recommended that a personal picture of the patient be added to cross check previous results which suggested this may not be preferred.
2. Under “About the test” section, the sentence that describes the test was refined to make it clearer
3. Under “Your results” section, the word “risk” in the Arabic prototype was removed from the graphs and replaced with “above normal” “normal” and “below normal”
4. The bar graph that had a legend label was included in the report.
5. The graph for Arabic groups was designed with two colours; green for normal and red for above normal or below normal. The graph for English groups was designed with three colours; green, red and yellow.
6. Under “Your risk” section, positive and negative messages were included in the prototype. In the Arabic groups’ prototype, the messages were presented as a case study or explanation and the heart attack and blindness were kept as the worst risks. In the English groups’ prototype, the messages were presented as a graph that showed the risks and occurrence of the diabetes complications over time and the blindness, heart attack, kidney disease and leg amputation were kept as the worst risks.
7. Under the “medication” sub-section, detailed information about medication (i.e. dosage and frequency) was added to the prototype. The syringe picture was removed and replaced with a picture without a syringe.
8. Under the “physical activity” sub-section, the word ”garden” was added.
9. Under the “food” sub-section, the picture that contained grapes was replaced with a picture that did not contain grapes, as many patients already knew that grapes were contra-indicated.
10. In the Arabic groups’ prototype, the foods were divided into two types; foods that increase sugar levels and foods that reduce sugar levels.
11. Information about the types and amount of food that can be eaten during celebrations and strategies for dealing with this food was added to the prototype under the food subheading.
12. In the Arabic groups’ prototype, a new part to record the daily sugar level test in the report was added to the prototype.

Element	Initial Design	Refined Design
1
2	About the test The test measures the average sugar level in your blood over the last 3 months - Oct-Dec 2011. It indicates your risk of kidney disease, heart attack, blindness and other serious complications. A healthy person has a reading of about 4%-5%	About the test This test (HbA1c) is a simple lab test that shows the average sugar level in your blood over the last 3 months. HbA1c stands for "hemoglobin A1c". The result shows if a person's blood sugar is close to normal, below normal or above normal.
3
4
5
6
7
8

Table 7: Prototype Refinements – Arabic-speaking
Based on feedback from the focus groups the refined design was produced. Translations have not yet been made to the text.

Element	Tested Prototype Parts	Refined Prototype Parts
1
2	About the testThe test measures the average sugar level in your blood over the last 3 months - Oct-Dec 2011. It indicates your risk of kidney disease, heart attack, blindness and other serious complications. A healthy person has a reading of about 4%-5%	About the testThis test (HbA1c) is a simple lab test that shows the average sugar level in your blood over the last 3 months. HbA1c stands for "hemoglobin A1c". The result shows if a person's blood sugar is close to normal, below normal or above normal.
3
4
5
6
7