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A participatory process to design an app to improve adherence to anti-osteoporotic therapies: A development and
Alessandra Angelucci1, Benedetta Pongiglione2, Sara Bernasconi1
1Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Objective:
The aim of the study was to develop an app to improve patients' adherence to therapy for osteoporosis and to test its usability.
Methods:
In Phase I, the app functions needed to improve medication adherence were identified through a focus group with six patients with osteoporosis and a joint interview with two bone specialists. The app prototype was then developed (Phase II) and refined after its feasibility testing (Phase III) for 13-25 days by eight patients. Finally, the app underwent usability testing (Phase IV) for 6 months by nine other patients. The mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ) was used to collect the assessment of the app by the 17 patients.
Results:
The final version of the app provided information on osteoporosis, allowed patients to contact the bone specialist for an additional consultation, and generated a reminder for taking medications accompanied by feedback on adherence. The assessment of the app was positive but evaluations differed between the feasibility and usability testing, with the former displaying a significantly (p ≤ .05) better assessment across all MAUQ items.
Conclusions:
In this study, we tested an app for improving adherence to medical therapies in patients with osteoporosis. The usability testing revealed a lower "patient-centered" performance of the app as compared to that observed during the feasibility phase. Future developments of the study include increasing the testing cohort and adding a technical support during the usability testing.
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