Mobile Health App for Adults with Persisting Postconcussion Symptoms: Development and Usability Study

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Digital Health
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Persisting postconcussion symptoms present diagnostic and treatment challenges.
• Current symptom assessment methods rely on retrospective reporting.
• Mobile health (mHealth) offers a potential solution for accessible and cost-efficient symptom mapping.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a research-based mobile app for symptom mapping in adults with persisting postconcussion symptoms.
• To investigate the usability, feasibility, and safety of the developed mHealth app.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-method development and usability study involving three iterative cycles.
• App design, programming, and evaluation by user and clinician groups.
• Utilized mHealth App Usability Questionnaire, Mobile App Rating Scale, and semistructured interviews.

Main Results:

• The app achieved high usability scores from both user (5/7) and clinician (4.1/5) groups.
• High adherence rate (89%) during a 28-day home-testing period.
• Qualitative analysis revealed themes of "Visualizing the invisible," "Personalized yet simple," and "More than just a number."

Conclusions:

• A research-based symptom mapping app for persisting postconcussion symptoms was successfully developed.
• The app demonstrated high usability, feasibility, and safety for its intended purpose.
• mHealth provides a viable alternative to traditional symptom mapping methods.