High usability of a smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis

© 2017, The Author(s) 2017. Introduction: In cystic fibrosis, exacerbations impair lung function and health-related quality of life, increase healthcare costs and reduce survival. Delayed reporting of worsening symptoms can result in more severe exacerbations and worse clinical outcomes; therefore t...

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Main Authors: Wood, Jamie, Jenkins, Susan, Putrino, D., Mulrennan, S., Morey, S., Cecins, N., Hill, Kylie
Format: Journal Article
Published: Royal Society of Medicine Press 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/66156
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author Wood, Jamie
Jenkins, Susan
Putrino, D.
Mulrennan, S.
Morey, S.
Cecins, N.
Hill, Kylie
author_facet Wood, Jamie
Jenkins, Susan
Putrino, D.
Mulrennan, S.
Morey, S.
Cecins, N.
Hill, Kylie
author_sort Wood, Jamie
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2017, The Author(s) 2017. Introduction: In cystic fibrosis, exacerbations impair lung function and health-related quality of life, increase healthcare costs and reduce survival. Delayed reporting of worsening symptoms can result in more severe exacerbations and worse clinical outcomes; therefore there is a need for a novel approach to facilitate the early identification and treatment of exacerbations in this population. This study investigated the usability of a smartphone application to report symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis, and the observer agreement in clinical decision-making between senior clinicians interpreting smartphone application responses. Methods: Adults with cystic fibrosis used the smartphone application weekly for four weeks. The application comprised 10 yes/no questions regarding respiratory symptoms and two regarding emotional well-being. Usability was measured with the System Usability Scale; Observer agreement was tested by providing a cystic fibrosis physician and a nurse practitioner with 45 clinical scenarios. For each scenario the clinicians, who were blinded to each other's responses, were asked to indicate whether or not they would: (i) initiate telephone contact, and/or (ii) request a clinic visit for the individual. Results: Ten participants (five female), aged mean (SD) 33 (11) years, FEV1 49 (27)% predicted completed the study. The mean (SD) System Usability Scale score was 94 (6). There was perfect agreement between clinicians for initiating contact with the participant (? = 1.0, p < 0.001), and near-perfect for requesting a clinic visit (? = 0.86, p < 0.001). Discussion: The use of a smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis has excellent usability and near-perfect agreement between senior clinicians when interpreting the application responses.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-661562018-07-09T07:53:03Z High usability of a smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis Wood, Jamie Jenkins, Susan Putrino, D. Mulrennan, S. Morey, S. Cecins, N. Hill, Kylie © 2017, The Author(s) 2017. Introduction: In cystic fibrosis, exacerbations impair lung function and health-related quality of life, increase healthcare costs and reduce survival. Delayed reporting of worsening symptoms can result in more severe exacerbations and worse clinical outcomes; therefore there is a need for a novel approach to facilitate the early identification and treatment of exacerbations in this population. This study investigated the usability of a smartphone application to report symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis, and the observer agreement in clinical decision-making between senior clinicians interpreting smartphone application responses. Methods: Adults with cystic fibrosis used the smartphone application weekly for four weeks. The application comprised 10 yes/no questions regarding respiratory symptoms and two regarding emotional well-being. Usability was measured with the System Usability Scale; Observer agreement was tested by providing a cystic fibrosis physician and a nurse practitioner with 45 clinical scenarios. For each scenario the clinicians, who were blinded to each other's responses, were asked to indicate whether or not they would: (i) initiate telephone contact, and/or (ii) request a clinic visit for the individual. Results: Ten participants (five female), aged mean (SD) 33 (11) years, FEV1 49 (27)% predicted completed the study. The mean (SD) System Usability Scale score was 94 (6). There was perfect agreement between clinicians for initiating contact with the participant (? = 1.0, p < 0.001), and near-perfect for requesting a clinic visit (? = 0.86, p < 0.001). Discussion: The use of a smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis has excellent usability and near-perfect agreement between senior clinicians when interpreting the application responses. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/66156 10.1177/1357633X17723366 Royal Society of Medicine Press restricted
spellingShingle Wood, Jamie
Jenkins, Susan
Putrino, D.
Mulrennan, S.
Morey, S.
Cecins, N.
Hill, Kylie
High usability of a smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis
title High usability of a smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis
title_full High usability of a smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis
title_fullStr High usability of a smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis
title_full_unstemmed High usability of a smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis
title_short High usability of a smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis
title_sort high usability of a smartphone application for reporting symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/66156