A Smartphone App to Increase Immunizations in the Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant Population: Development and...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Transplant Medicine
• Mobile Health (mHealth)
• Vaccinology

Background:

• Vaccine-preventable infections pose significant risks to pediatric transplant recipients.
• Less than 20% of children are up-to-date on immunizations before transplant.
• Smartphone apps can enhance vaccine education, reminders, and communication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop the Immunize PediatricTransplant smartphone app for pretransplant immunization.
• To assess the app's functionality and usability in the target population.

Main Methods:

• Mixed-methods study using the Mobile Health Agile Development and Evaluation Lifecycle.
• Formative research with semistructured interviews of transplant stakeholders.
• App development by CANImmunize Inc. followed by focus groups, alpha, and beta testing.
• User version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS) used for assessment.

Main Results:

• The Immunize PediatricTransplant app was developed for Android and Apple devices.
• Features include vaccine information, immunization records, communication tools, and automated reminders.
• Stakeholders demonstrated high accuracy (87%) in data entry and rated the app highly (4.2-4.8/5).

Conclusions:

• The Immunize PediatricTransplant app was successfully developed using a user-centered, agile approach.
• The app demonstrated positive user feedback and functionality.
• Further real-world testing is needed to confirm effectiveness in improving immunization rates.