JCPSLP Vol 23 Issue 2 2021

(Coughler et al., 2020; McGill & McLeod, 2019). Acceptability can be examined in terms of usability, satisfaction, and facilitators or barriers to completion (Saracutu et al., 2018). Usability Usability is impacted by how effectively users can access the information they seek (Coughler et al., 2020). In evaluations of existing programs, usability is often poorly defined or not evaluated in depth. Douglas et al. (2017) conducted face-to-face interviews with four participants to explore the acceptability of an online program for caregivers of children with complex communication needs. Two comments indicated minor technical difficulties with no other comments related to usability (Douglas et al., 2017). Pickard et al. (2016) gathered both quantitative and qualitative data to gain perceptions of online training; however, most of the items were related to content or the child’s outcomes and did not explore usability. Kobak et al. (2011) employed a system usability scale to evaluate an online training program among 23 caregivers of children with ASD. The effectiveness and efficiency of the technical aspects of the program were rated quantitatively using agreement scales and caregivers perceived the program as overall user-friendly, suggesting that online training about communication is feasible. Age and education level of caregivers might impact perception of usability, but participant demographics were not investigated here (Kobak et al., 2011). Satisfaction Satisfaction refers to enjoyment and therefore engagement (Coughler et al., 2020). Broad insights were identified in the interviews conducted by Douglas et al. (2017), but specific questions were not explored. Similarly, Pickard et al. (2016) included satisfaction measures as auxiliary to the research, and only explored them briefly. Kobak et al. (2011) measured satisfaction using ratings from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree) on a 15-item questionnaire collected from caregivers of children with ASD. These questions asked about organisation of the content, helpfulness of multimedia elements, the length of the tutorial and participants’ overall enjoyment for the training provided. Overall, caregivers’ satisfaction with the training was reported as high, thus providing preliminary evidence that this format of training may be an engaging way to increase knowledge on important topics. Albeit noteworthy, these results are not generalisable to a wider population of caregivers seeking to facilitate the language development of children without an existing diagnosis. While McLeod et al. (2020) purpose-built a website focusing on speech and language for a wider population of children waitlisted for speech-language services, to date there is no in-depth evaluation of its acceptability and only a single measure of perceived satisfaction was reported (adapted from the Patient Enablement and Satisfaction Survey, 2012). Aims of the research The current study extends this body of work within the broader context of language development to caregivers of children with or at risk of language disorders. This online training program— Language Together —was developed for the current study for evaluation of perception of acceptability by caregivers of children under 5 years. This research explores the relationship between participant demographics and overall ratings of usability and

satisfaction, and asked caregivers to identify barriers and facilitators for accessing and completing this type of training. Change in knowledge and confidence are reported elsewhere (Nizich et al., 2020). Method Participants Participants were 29 caregivers of one or more children 5 years or younger. While the training was designed for parents, seven health or education professionals who work with children 5 years or younger also completed the training. These included three occupational therapists, one speech pathology student, and one principal, one teacher and one education assistant. Their data was analysed separately. See Table 1 for participant demographics.

Table 1. Participant demographics

Caregivers ( N = 29) n (%)

Professionals ( N = 7) n (%)

Gender

Female

28 (96.6)

7 (100.0)

Male

1 (3.4)

0 (0)

Age

20–30 years

5 (17.2)

5 (71.4)

31–40 years

17 (58.6)

1 (14.3)

41–50 years

6 (20.7)

1 (14.3)

61+ years

1 (3.4)

0 (0)

Suze Leitão (top) and Mary Claessen

Country of residence

Australia

27 (93.1)

7 (100.0)

International

2 (6.9)

0 (0)

Ethnicity

Caucasian

20 (69.0)

7 (100.0)

Asian

4 (13.8)

0 (0)

Other

5 (17.2)

0 (0)

Highest level of education

High school

4 (13.8)

0 (0)

University (undergraduate degree)

13 (44.8)

4 (57.1)

University (postgraduate degree)

3 (10.3)

2 (28.6)

TAFE

7 (24.1)

1 (14.3)

Prefer not to say

2 (6.9)

0 (0)

Online training program A three-module (~30 minutes each) training package was created using a Wix (Wix.com, Inc, 2021) account and named Language Together. The homepage of the website is shown in Figure 1, with the training content driven by pedagogical online learning frameworks (Majumdar, 2003), language development literature (Owens, 2016; Paul & Norbury, 2012) and existing parent training packages

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JCPSLP Volume 23, Number 2 2021

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au