Development and evaluation of a shared decision-making system for choosing the type of bariatric surgery

Obesity is a multifactorial disease resulting from various environmental, genetic, and metabolic factors, affecting a large portion of the population. One of the most effective treatments for severe obesity is bariatric surgery. This research aims to develop a shared decision-making system that facilitates the selection of the appropriate type of bariatric surgery.

In this research, we designed and developed a prototype of a shared decision-making system to aid in choosing the type of bariatric surgery through three steps: a) identifying data requirements from a literature review, b) designing interfaces and prototyping, and c) conducting a usability evaluation.

Through a literature review of articles, books, and interviews with ten selected patients, the necessary clinical data and educational topics were identified and confirmed by nine surgeons. A prototype was developed using the web application "Figma." We also analyzed the prototype using heuristic evaluation; "helping users understand and recover from errors" and "confidentiality" had the highest degrees of problem severity, with scores of 3.3 and 3.5, respectively.

The developed prototype demonstrated an acceptable level of usability. This system can facilitate shared decision-making and help structure education for patients seeking bariatric surgery.