User Experience of an App-Based Treatment for Stress Urinary Incontinence: Qualitative Interview Study

Area of Science:

• Digital health interventions in women's health.
• Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) adherence and efficacy.
• Qualitative research on patient-reported outcomes for stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Background:

• Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) affects a significant percentage of women, with lifestyle interventions and PFMT as first-line treatments.
• Mobile health (mHealth) applications offer potential for improving adherence to SUI treatments.
• The Tät app was developed to deliver a 3-month PFMT program for women with SUI, demonstrating efficacy in a prior RCT.

Discussion:

• Participants viewed the app as a novel, modern, and less embarrassing approach to SUI treatment.
• App features such as reminders and visual graphs were crucial for maintaining motivation during PFMT.
• While empowering self-management, some participants expressed uncertainty regarding the correct execution of pelvic floor muscle contractions.

Key Insights:

• App-based PFMT increased women's self-confidence and ability to take responsibility for their SUI treatment.
• The Tät app served as a valuable tool for supporting motivation in a challenging PFMT program.
• Empowerment and self-management were core themes identified in participants' experiences with the app.

Outlook:

• Further research could explore methods to address user uncertainty regarding correct PFMT technique within app-based programs.
• Investigating long-term adherence and sustained benefits of app-guided SUI treatment is warranted.
• The integration of digital health tools like the Tät app holds promise for scalable and accessible SUI management.