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Usability of a smartphone application for patients with interstitial lung disease: Results from the Registry for Better Understanding of ILD ( RE ‐ BUILD ) pilot study

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Digital technologies offer opportunities for remote monitoring, increased patient engagement and incorporation of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) into interstitial lung disease (ILD) care and research. This study evaluated the usability and patient experience of the RE-BUILD (Registry for Better Understanding of ILD) application, an ILD-specific smartphone app. METHODS: Patients with ILD aged ≥18 years were recruited from three tertiary ILD centres to use the RE-BUILD app for 6 months. The mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ) was evaluated at 1, 3 and 6 months and patients received monthly prompts to enter clinical and PROM data. Qualitative interviews regarding patient experience were performed in a subset of 10. RESULTS: Fifty patients, with mean age 66.9 ± 10.3 years, 25 (50%) female were included. Participants used the app for a median of 48 (IQR 21-178.3) sessions, equivalent to 8 sessions (IQR 3.5-29.71) per month. Median number of days that the app was accessed was 37 (IQR 14-96.8), with 13 (26%) patients using the app >30 times per month. The most accessed app feature was physical activity, followed by 'air quality'. Participants agreed or strongly agreed that the app was easy to use (76.0%) easy to learn to use (79.8%) and well-organized with accessible information (74.8%). The median overall MAUQ score for usability was 5.69 (IQR 5.03-6.19). There was also a high rate of engagement with app functionalities. CONCLUSION: RE-BUILD is a usable and intuitive platform for self-monitoring and data collection in ILD. Patients report a high degree of satisfaction and have provided valuable feedback for its further development.

Source: Respirology

DOI: 10.1111/resp.14874