The Use of Data Collected From mHealth Apps to Inform Evidence-Based Quality Improvement: An Integrative Review

Using data from mHealth apps to inform person-centred practice: A discussion paper

BACKGROUND

mHealth applications (apps) are tools that can enhance research by efficiently collecting and storing large amounts of data. However, data collection alone does not lead to change. Innovation and practice change occur through utilisation of evidence. The volume of data collected raises questions regarding utilisation of data by nurses and midwives, and how data from mHealth apps can be used to improve person-centred practice. There is limited empirical evidence and a lack of direction from global health authorities to guide nurses and midwives in this area.

AIM

To describe strategies for nurses and midwives that could enhance the effective use of data generated by mHealth apps to inform person-centred practice. The purpose of this paper is to stimulate reflection and generate actions for data utilisation when using mHealth apps in nursing research and practice.

METHODS

This discussion paper has been informed by current evidence, the integrated-Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (i-PARIHS) framework, and research experience as part of doctoral study.

FINDINGS

Before engaging in data collection using mHealth apps, nurses and midwives would benefit from considering the nature of the evidence collected, available technological infrastructure, and staff skill levels. When collecting data and interpreting results, use of a team approach supported by engaged leadership and external facilitation is invaluable. This provides support to operate apps, and more importantly use the data collected to inform person-centred practice.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper addresses the limited available evidence to guide nurses and midwives when using mHealth apps to collect and use data to inform practice change. It highlights the need for appropriate technology, external facilitative support, engaged leadership, and a team approach to collect meaningful evidence using mHealth apps. Clinicians, leaders, and researchers can apply the strategies provided to enhance the use of mHealth apps and ensure translation of evidence into practice.

How nurses and midwives engage with patient experience data to inform person-centred quality and safety improvements

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To explore how nurses and midwives engage with patient experience data collected via a mobile health app to inform person-centred practice improvements.

BACKGROUND

A large amount of data is collected in healthcare, yet there is limited evidence outlining how nursing and midwifery staff utilise patient experience data to inform person-centred quality and safety improvements.

METHODS

This study utilised action research, underpinned by Practice Development methodology and has been reported using the SQUIRE 2.0 checklist. Six clinical units (medical short stay, acute medical, surgical, oncology/haematology, day surgery and maternity) in a large health district in Australia engaged in three cycles of data collection using a mobile health app. The app captured patient experience data relating to the person-centred KPIs developed and tested by McCance et al. (2012). Staff used the data to develop and evaluate person-centred practice.

RESULTS

A number of improvements in scores and practice occurred through engaging with the data in a cyclical way. All six clinical units saw an improvement in four or more of the KPIs in the patient survey results from cycle one to cycle three, with two clinical units improving in all eight. On average across the six units, there was also an increase in time nurses/midwives were visible to their patients, an increase in clinical documentation reflecting the patients' needs and what was important to them, an increase in positive comments and a decrease in negative comments in patient stories.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that collecting and utilising data from the person-centred KPIs in a collaborative and cyclical way lead to enhanced patient experience and the development and implementation of person-centred quality and safety improvements.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Capturing and utilising data that are meaningful to nursing/midwifery teams in a cyclical, action-orientated approach result in person-centred practice improvements that enhance the experience of those that are receiving and delivering patient care.

Implementing and measuring person-centredness using an APP for knowledge transfer: the iMPAKT app

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to evaluate a technological solution in the form of an App to implement and measure person-centredness in nursing. The focus was to enhance the knowledge transfer of a set of person-centred key performance indicators and the corresponding measurement framework used to inform improvements in the experience of care.

DESIGN

The study used an evaluation approach derived from the work of the Medical Research Council to assess the feasibility of the App and establish the degree to which the App was meeting the aims set out in the development phase. Evaluation data were collected using focus groups (n = 7) and semi-structured interviews (n = 7) to capture the impact of processes experienced by participating sites.

SETTING

The study was conducted in the UK and Australia in two organizations, across 11 participating sites.

PARTICIPANTS

22 nurses from 11 sites in two large health care organizations were recruited on a voluntary basis.

INTERVENTION

Implementing the KPIs and measurement framework via the APP through two cycles of data collection.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The main outcome was to establish feasibility in the use of the App.

RESULTS

The majority of nurse/midwife participants found the App easy to use. There was broad consensus that the App was an effective method to measure the patient experience and generated clear, concise reports in real time.

CONCLUSIONS

The implementation of the person-centred key performance indicators using the App enhanced the generation of meaningful data to evidence patient experience across a range of different clinical settings.

The Potential of mHealth as a Game Changer for the Management of Sickle Cell Disease in India

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a chronic genetic disease that requires lifelong therapy and monitoring. Low drug adherence and poor monitoring may lead to an increase in morbidities and low quality of life. In the era of digital technology, various mobile health (mHealth) apps are being tested for their potential in increasing drug adherence in patients with SCD. We herewith discuss the applicability and feasibility of these mHealth apps for the management of SCD in India.

Menstruation: science and society

Women's health concerns are generally underrepresented in basic and translational research, but reproductive health in particular has been hampered by a lack of understanding of basic uterine and menstrual physiology. Menstrual health is an integral part of overall health because between menarche and menopause, most women menstruate. Yet for tens of millions of women around the world, menstruation regularly and often catastrophically disrupts their physical, mental, and social well-being. Enhancing our understanding of the underlying phenomena involved in menstruation, abnormal uterine bleeding, and other menstruation-related disorders will move us closer to the goal of personalized care. Furthermore, a deeper mechanistic understanding of menstruation-a fast, scarless healing process in healthy individuals-will likely yield insights into a myriad of other diseases involving regulation of vascular function locally and systemically. We also recognize that many women now delay pregnancy and that there is an increasing desire for fertility and uterine preservation. In September 2018, the Gynecologic Health and Disease Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development convened a 2-day meeting, "Menstruation: Science and Society" with an aim to "identify gaps and opportunities in menstruation science and to raise awareness of the need for more research in this field." Experts in fields ranging from the evolutionary role of menstruation to basic endometrial biology (including omic analysis of the endometrium, stem cells and tissue engineering of the endometrium, endometrial microbiome, and abnormal uterine bleeding and fibroids) and translational medicine (imaging and sampling modalities, patient-focused analysis of menstrual disorders including abnormal uterine bleeding, smart technologies or applications and mobile health platforms) to societal challenges in health literacy and dissemination frameworks across different economic and cultural landscapes shared current state-of-the-art and future vision, incorporating the patient voice at the launch of the meeting. Here, we provide an enhanced meeting report with extensive up-to-date (as of submission) context, capturing the spectrum from how the basic processes of menstruation commence in response to progesterone withdrawal, through the role of tissue-resident and circulating stem and progenitor cells in monthly regeneration-and current gaps in knowledge on how dysregulation leads to abnormal uterine bleeding and other menstruation-related disorders such as adenomyosis, endometriosis, and fibroids-to the clinical challenges in diagnostics, treatment, and patient and societal education. We conclude with an overview of how the global agenda concerning menstruation, and specifically menstrual health and hygiene, are gaining momentum, ranging from increasing investment in addressing menstruation-related barriers facing girls in schools in low- to middle-income countries to the more recent "menstrual equity" and "period poverty" movements spreading across high-income countries.