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Usefulness of a hand therapy application
Kristin Valdes1, Nancy Naughton2, Lori Algar3
1Occupational Therapy Department, Touro University, Henderson, NV, USA.
Study Design:
Cross-sectional cohort design that collected data by means of a survey.
Introduction:
Performance and adherence to a home exercise program (HEP) has been identified as an integral component of hand therapy rehabilitation. Understanding how patients learn along with offering creative options to improve engagement is important. Advancements in technology including the use of smart phone apps should be considered.
Purpose Of Study:
To determine if a hand therapy app is a useful method for patient education and home exercises for patients receiving hand therapy for an orthopedic injury distal to the shoulder.
Method:
Individuals receiving hand therapy at an outpatient hand therapy clinic via a convenience sample (n = 41) were asked to download use The Hand Therapy Application for an individualized exercise program. The Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) questionnaire was used to assess the smart phone app.
Results:
The overall MARS score for the hand therapy app was 3.5 out of 5. The MARS also gathered information on the app's engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and subjective quality of the app with mean scores of 3.6, 3.8, and 3.7, respectively. Data was also collected on the app's description accuracy, goals, quality and quantity of information, visual information, credibility, and evidence base.
Discussion:
Participants receiving skilled hand therapy gave an overall rating of The Hand Therapy Application as above average for providing information about the participants condition and for HEP instruction.
Conclusion:
The findings of this study suggests that The Hand Therapy Application should be a consideration as a HEP tool in clinical practice.
