Design and Assessment of an Electronic Bladder Diary for Collecting Patient Reported Symptoms Regarding Overactive...

The aim of this study was to design an electronic bladder diary (BD) and investigate whether it could be an alternative to a paper BD in collecting patient reported data regarding overactive bladder symptoms. We designed a web-based electronic BD to collect information about void frequency, urgency, incontinence, and fluid intake. A reliability study with crossover design was conducted to compare the electronic and paper BD. The reported voiding frequency was compared between the diary formats and the diary quality was evaluated based on the extent of complete and correct filled out diary days. User preferences were assessed through a survey. Nineteen healthy participants completed both diary formats for three days. A significantly lower number of voids were reported in the electronic BD compared to the paper BD (p<0.001) and a Bland-Altman plot showed a systematic bias of 1.3 extra voids reported in the paper BD. The diary quality was comparable for the two formats and 53% of the participants preferred the electronic BD. Thus, we conclude that the designed electronic BD has similar quality and user preferences as the paper BD. However, it is not applicable in the current state as an alternative to the paper BD due to differences in recorded voiding frequency. Changes such as adding a possibility to view and edit former data entries, and applying data type restrictions could improve the design and diminish the differences between the collected data in the two diary formats.Clinical RelevanceAn electronic BD may simplify data entry for patients and data analysis for clinicians, thus providing more comprehensive and precise information on overactive bladder symptoms. Furthermore, it could empower patients by providing greater insight into and control over their symptoms.