Piloting a cancer awareness app across six European countries: a pre-post study

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Digital Health
• Cancer Prevention

Background:

• Cancer is a major European public health issue, with mobile health apps showing potential for increasing awareness of risks and prevention.
• However, usability issues and disparities in digital health literacy (DHL) can hinder the effectiveness of these mobile health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the usability of the EU Mobile App for Cancer Prevention and assess changes in cancer awareness.
• To examine how variations in DHL and sociodemographic factors influence app usability and cancer awareness outcomes across six European countries.

Main Methods:

• A pre-post study design involving 328 participants for the pre-usage survey and 77 for the post-usage survey.
• Usability was measured using the System Usability Scale (SUS), cancer awareness with an 18-item quiz, and DHL with the eHEALS tool.
• Statistical analyses included t-tests and ANOVAs to compare usability and cancer awareness scores between groups.

Main Results:

• The app achieved moderate overall usability (SUS score of 62.56), with no significant differences across demographic or usage subgroups.
• Cancer awareness scores significantly improved from 50.45 to 53.31 (p < 0.001), with the most notable gains among individuals with lower DHL and higher education.
• No correlation was found between the frequency or duration of app usage and the extent of cancer awareness improvement.

Conclusions:

• The EU Mobile App for Cancer Prevention shows potential in enhancing cancer awareness, despite currently having moderate usability.
• Key areas for improvement include app navigation, setup processes, and content personalization for users with low DHL.
• Optimizing these aspects is crucial for boosting user engagement and ensuring the app reaches all populations equitably.