Measuring Mobile Phone Application Usability for Anticoagulation from the Perspective of Patients, Caregivers, and Healthcare Professionals

Shih-Wei Wang; Chun-Chi Chiou; Chien-Hao Su; Cheng-Chih Wu; Shu-Chen Tsai; Tsu-Kung Lin; Chien-Ning Hsu

doi:10.3390/ijerph191610136

Measuring Mobile Phone Application Usability for Anticoagulation from the Perspective of Patients, Caregivers, and Healthcare Professionals

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 16;19(16):10136. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191610136.

Authors

Shih-Wei Wang^{1

2}, Chun-Chi Chiou¹, Chien-Hao Su¹, Cheng-Chih Wu^{1

2}, Shu-Chen Tsai¹, Tsu-Kung Lin^{3

4}, Chien-Ning Hsu^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan.
² School of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
³ Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan.
⁴ Center for Mitochondrial Research and Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan.

Abstract

Oral anticoagulants (OAC) are recommended for preventing stroke and systemic embolism in atrial fibrillation. Proper use is imperative for maximizing anticoagulation therapy's effectiveness and safety. In preparation for the implementation of a smartphone-based SmartMed app (application) aiming to promote patient self-management, medication adherence, and data collection for patients on anticoagulation therapy, its usability assessment can ensure the value of OAC app development and adoption. We evaluated the SmartMed app's usability using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and the app-specific domain of the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) for its perceived impact on taking OAC regularly. We recruited 25 OAC users and their home caregivers and 59 healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, nurses, and cardiac surgeons from one medical center and one regional hospital in Taiwan. All participants (n = 84) thought the SmartMed app was useful, with mean SUS and MARS scores of 81.49 (±14.42) and 4.65 (±0.49), respectively. Usability evaluation revealed that fewer experiences with smartphone apps and different healthcare professionals (pharmacists versus nurses or cardiac surgeons) were associated with lower SUS scores and perceived impact. Throughout the evaluation process, the SmartMed app's design was considered helpful from multiple stakeholders' perspectives. Further ongoing mobile technology supports are necessary to establish the SmartMed app's effectiveness.

Keywords: disease management; eHealth; health professionals; health promotion; medication adherence; mobile health technologies; oral anticoagulants; patient; self-management; usability.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Anticoagulants / therapeutic use
Caregivers
Cell Phone*
Humans
Medication Adherence
Mobile Applications*
User-Computer Interface

Substances

Anticoagulants

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST 107-2622-E-182A-001-CC3, 109-2622-E-182A-001-CC3) and Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CMRPG8M0881 to C.-N.H.).