Evaluation of a Multispecialty Mobile Health App: Pilot Study

Educational mobile apps have been studied in multiple surgical disciplines, evaluating a wide range of possible benefits with varying success in improving overall quality of life after surgery. We hypothesize that utilization of a mobile health app in the perioperative setting will be easy to use and will improve patient satisfaction with care for patients undergoing hand surgery.

Patients were given access to a mobile app at their initial visit to access content about their diagnosis, treatment options, and care instructions for cubital tunnel syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, distal radius fracture, trigger finger, or carpometacarpal arthritis. At their initial visit, patients were administered the Short-Form-12 (SF-12) survey to assess subjects' physical component summary (score-12) and mental component summary (score-12)health score, with higher scores indicating better function and with the United States average score at 50. At their 4-week postoperative visit, the participating patients were administered two surveys: the mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (mAUQ) to address the usability and utility of mobile health care apps and SF-12. The mAUQ comprises 21 items rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

Of the 162 patients enrolled, 120 patients completed all survey items. Patients scored the mAUQ an average 6.2 of 7 regarding ease of use, 5.9 of 7 for system information arrangement, and 4.8 of 7 for usefulness. Comparing pre- to postsurgery SF-12 scores at 4 week follow-up, the patients demonstrated stable physical component summary (score-12) and a trend toward slightly worse mental component summary (score-12).

Overall, the patients found the mobile app easy to use, could sufficiently navigate the app, and found the information presented useful to their care. However, the patients did not find improvement in their mental health scores with the app.