Quality Assessment for Spanish Language App

Overview: Not-for-Profit Health Services Company

Established in 1992 as the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, the Department of Population Medicine (DPM) is a research and academic partnership between Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, one of the country’s premier health plans. DPM is the nation’s only medical school department jointly sponsored by a health plan. DPM’s position within Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a large non-profit health plan with diverse enrollees across New England, offers a prime opportunity to study specific patient populations and use the knowledge gained to improve the health of society.

Problem: Needed Quality Assurance Check for App Newly Available in Spanish

An app platform called MyStudies, originally developed under direction and funding of FDA by Harvard Pilgrim Health Can Institute (HPHCI) and their development partners, was in use by research studies to collect patient reported outcomes outside of a clinical setting. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, staff at HPHCI and colleagues at the FDA funded a project to launch a new version of the MyStudies application, COVID MyStudies, to assist in collecting electronic consent for ongoing clinical trials, while COVID was limiting in-person interactions. In an effort to better serve Spanish-speaking study participants, there was a decision to translate the app into Spanish. The MyStudies app team had a bilingual colleague initially translate information for the app but they also needed an additional quality assurance review of the translations to confirm they were accurate and appropriate.

To ensure that the information provided and the performance of the app were of high quality, the MyStudies team was looking for an expert to assess both the Apple and Android versions of the app with a testing script (in Spanish), review the accuracy of the translation, and identify any potential issues with app performance.

They were looking for experience in user-assisted training, as well as a company who could meet their budget and time constraints.

Solution: Bilingual Quality Assurance Testing of the App

Rapport International matched the MyStudies team with a qualified translator who is experienced in new technologies. The translator was enthusiastic about the project and excited to help the MyStudies team deliver a high-quality app for the Spanish-speaking community.

The translator tested both versions of the app, updated translations where necessary, and provided missing translations. She also recorded and tracked a few bugs along the way. Rapport International reported the bugs and retested when the app was updated by the MyStudies team.

Results: Best Possible App Performance for Spanish-Speaking Members

Rapport International’s on-time delivery of quality assurance testing of the Spanish version of the app provided Harvard Pilgrim with what they needed to deliver a great user experience to their Spanish-speaking study participants. By testing the app performance as well as reviewing the Spanish translations, MyStudies is now able to provide all of the content in Spanish.