Do smoking cessation websites meet the needs of smokers with severe mental illnesses?

Many people learn about smoking cessation through information on the Internet. Whether people with severe mental illnesses, who have very high rates of smoking, are able to use currently available websites about smoking cessation is unknown. The study reported here assessed whether four smoking cessation websites met usability guidelines and whether they were usable by smokers with severe mental illnesses. Four websites that appeared first on a Google search and represented an array of sponsors were selected. First, five experts rated the websites on adequacy of content in six areas and usability in 20 areas. Second, 16 smokers with severe mental illnesses performed two search tasks on the websites with researchers observing their searches and interviewing them regarding usability. One of the websites was rated by experts as acceptable for content and usability, but most of the participants were unable to navigate this website. The only website that was navigable received poor content ratings by experts. Four easily accessible websites did not meet the needs of smokers with severe mental illnesses. Although the Internet is a promising strategy to provide education about treatments, website developers must attend to the needs and capacities of multiple user groups.

Developing a quit smoking website that is usable by people with severe mental illnesses.

OBJECTIVE: Evidence-based treatments may be delivered in computerized, web-based formats. This strategy can deliver the intervention consistently with minimal treatment provider time and cost. However, standard web sites may not be usable by people with severe mental illnesses who may experience cognitive deficits and low computer experience. This manuscript reports on the iterative development and usability testing of a website designed to educate and motivate adults with severe mental illnesses to engage in smoking cessation activities. METHODS: Three phases of semi-structured interviews were performed with participants after they used the program and combined with information from screen-recorded usability data. T-tests compared the differences between uses of the first computer program version and a later version. RESULTS: Iteratively conducted usability tests demonstrated an increased ease of use from the first to the last version of the website through significant improvement in the percentage of unproductive clicking along with fewer questions asked about how to use the program. The improvement in use of the website resulted from changes such as: integrating a mouse tutorial, increasing font sizes, and increasing button sizes. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The website usability recommendations provide some guidelines for interventionists developing web tools for people who experience serious psychiatric disabilities. In general, insights from the study highlight the need for thoughtful design and usability testing when creating a website for people with severe mental illness.

Development of the viscerocranial skeleton during embryogenesis of the sea lamprey, Petromyzon Marinus.

Evolution of the skeleton was a key transition in early vertebrates. Lampreys lack a mineralized skeleton but possess cartilaginous neurocranial and viscerocranial elements. In lampreys, the visceral skeleton develops as a fused branchial basket supporting the pharynx. Here, we have adapted Alcian blue staining of lamprey cartilage and show this method results in cartilage fluorescence that we used to describe development of the branchial skeleton in Petromyzon marinus between 17 and 63 days of development. We show that skeletal rods develop from condensations of flattened discoidal chondrocytes and may involve cellular intercalation. Lamprey trabecular, parachordal, and subchordal cartilages consist of aggregations of polygonal chondrocytes positioned on the ventral and lateral surfaces of the notochord. We speculate that morphological differences relate to functional differences in the cartilage. We show that differentiated skeletal rods are derived from neural crest. Finally, we show how branchial muscles intercalate with skeletal rods of the branchial basket.