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Design and Evaluation of a Gamification-Based Mobile Application for Reporting Adverse Drug Reactions by Patients and
Kimia Mahini1, Rezvan Rahimi1, Zohreh Vanaki2
1Department of Medical Informatics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Background:
Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) represent a significant challenge in pharmacovigilance, particularly for patients with chronic conditions like diabetes. Traditional reporting methods are often cumbersome and suffer from substantial underreporting. Mobile health applications with gamification elements offer a promising approach to enhance ADR reporting engagement.
Objective:
This study aimed to design, develop, and evaluate a gamified mobile application (RxFeedback) for ADR reporting among diabetic patients and healthcare professionals in Iran, with gamification mechanics (points, leaderboards, challenges) as the core engagement strategy.
Methods:
This analytical cross-sectional pilot study employed a user-centered design methodology in three phases: 1) Requirements gathering through literature review and stakeholder surveys (5 patients, 4 professionals); 2) Application development using Flutter framework with Dart programming language for Android platform; 3) Evaluation using Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) by 5 experts and Questionnaire for User Interaction Satisfaction (QUIS) by 20 patients.
Results:
The RxFeedback application incorporated comprehensive ADR reporting features, medication management, and gamification elements (points system, leaderboards, challenges). Expert evaluation yielded a mean MARS score of 3.65/5, with highest scores in functionality (4.05) and lowest in aesthetics (3.40). Patient satisfaction assessment showed an overall QUIS score of 6.14/10, with highest satisfaction in application features (6.8) and lowest in terminology (5.7), though the limited sample size (n=20 patients, n=5 experts) and focus on usability should be noted as preliminary study constraints.
Conclusion:
RxFeedback demonstrated acceptable usability and quality (MARS: 3.65/5; QUIS: 6.14/10) in this pilot study. However, effectiveness in improving actual ADR reporting rates was not assessed. These findings establish preliminary acceptability as a foundation for future experimental studies.