Patients' Perspectives on the Usability of a Mobile App for Self-Management following Spinal Cord Injury.
Gurkaran SinghMegan MacGillivrayPatricia MillsJared AdamsBonita SawatzkyWilliam Ben MortensonPublished in: Journal of medical systems (2019)
With decreasing inpatient lengths of stay following spinal cord injury (SCI), newly injured patients may be discharged into the community without the self-management skills needed to prevent secondary conditions. A mobile app was developed to facilitate self-management skills following SCI in the inpatient rehabilitation and early community settings. The objective of this study was to explore patients' perspectives on the usability of this self-management app. A mixed-methods study design was implemented. The app was trialed at a local rehabilitation centre with 20 inpatient participants who experienced a SCI. They received mobile app training sessions throughout their inpatient rehabilitation. A thematic analysis was performed on qualitative data from post-discharge exit questionnaires and researchers' field notes. Quantitative data (in the form of participants' tool usage data and self-reported system usability scale scores) were collected at discharge and 3 months post-discharge. Three main themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: (1) being accessible to users (i.e., being easy to adopt and compatible with assistive technologies), (2) being intuitive to navigate (i.e., incorporating a simple app layout and a system of alert notifications), and (3) offering users flexibility (i.e., providing users with control over their data). The mobile app received above average mean system usability scale scores, both at discharge (78.1/100) and 3 months post-discharge (71.6/100). Given that participants found the app acceptable for use in inpatient rehabilitation and following discharge into the community, further testing is warranted to explore its efficacy in preventing secondary complications.
Keyphrases
- spinal cord injury
- electronic health record
- mental health
- end stage renal disease
- ejection fraction
- chronic kidney disease
- healthcare
- palliative care
- prognostic factors
- peritoneal dialysis
- randomized controlled trial
- big data
- systematic review
- social media
- high resolution
- data analysis
- artificial intelligence
- neuropathic pain
- mass spectrometry
- medical students
- psychometric properties