Development of an mHealth Application for Self-Management of Post-Stroke Aphasia: Protocol for Experience-Based...

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Digital Health
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Speech and language therapy offers short-term benefits for post-stroke aphasia but faces challenges in access and maintenance.
• Mobile Health (mHealth) applications present a potential solution for sustained therapy access and improved outcomes.
• This research focuses on developing and evaluating a novel mHealth application for self-managed aphasia therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To co-design and evaluate a novel mHealth application for self-managed post-stroke aphasia therapy.
• To assess the acceptability, usability, and preliminary efficacy of the co-designed application.
• To understand factors influencing participation in co-design and future application development.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Experience-Based Co-Design and Human-Centred Design with people with aphasia (PWA), significant others (SO), and health professionals (HPs).
• Employed focus groups, nominal group technique, co-design workshops, and user-experience (UX) testing.
• Conducted a 4-week field test for feasibility and preliminary efficacy, followed by a process evaluation.

Main Results:

• A prototype mHealth application (AphasiaFit) was co-designed with end-users.
• Preliminary evidence of acceptability, usability, and potential efficacy was gathered through UX testing and a field test.
• Insights into the co-design process and factors influencing participation were obtained.

Conclusions:

• The co-designed AphasiaFit application offers a promising tool for self-managed post-stroke aphasia therapy.
• The study provides evidence for the application's acceptability and usability, with potential for improved treatment adherence.
• Findings will inform future development and scale-up of mHealth solutions for chronic stroke recovery.