Exploring Usability Issues of a Smartphone-Based Physician-to-Physician Teleconsultation App in an Orthopedic Clinic: Mixed Methods Study

Tuberculosis Treatment Compliance Under Smartphone-Based Video-Observed Therapy Versus Community-Based Directly Observed Therapy: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

There are no recent studies comparing the compliance rates of both patients and observers in tuberculosis treatment between the video-observed therapy (VOT) and directly observed therapy (DOT) programs.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to compare the average number of days that patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and their observers were compliant under VOT and DOT. In addition, this study aims to compare the sputum conversion rate of patients under VOT with that of patients under DOT.

METHODS

Patient and observer compliance with tuberculosis treatment between the VOT and DOT programs were compared based on the average number of VOT and DOT compliance days and sputum conversion rates in a 60-day cluster randomized controlled trial with patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (VOT: n=63 and DOT: n=65) with positive sputum acid-fast bacilli smears and 38 observers equally randomized into the VOT and DOT groups (19 observers per group and n=1-5 patients per observer). The VOT group submitted videos to observers via smartphones; the DOT group followed standard procedures. An intention-to-treat analysis assessed the compliance of both the patients and the observers.

RESULTS

The VOT group had higher average compliance than the DOT group (patients: mean difference 15.2 days, 95% CI 4.8-25.6; P=.005 and observers: mean difference 21.2 days, 95% CI 13.5-28.9; P<.001). The sputum conversion rates in the VOT and DOT groups were 73% and 61.5%, respectively (P=.17).

CONCLUSIONS

Smartphone-based VOT significantly outperformed community-based DOT in ensuring compliance with tuberculosis treatment among observers. However, the study was underpowered to confirm improved compliance among patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and to detect differences in sputum conversion rates.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Thai Clinical Trials Registry (TCTR) TCTR20210624002; https://tinyurl.com/3bc2ycrh.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

RR2-10.2196/38796.

Usability of a mobile application for the clinical follow-up of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and home oxygen therapy

BACKGROUND

Technological health tools (e-Health) may potentially facilitate the treatment of patients with chronic diseases through development of self-management and -care skills in patients and caregivers. However, these tools are usually marketed without prior analysis and without providing any context to final users, which frequently results in low adherence to their use.

PURPOSE

To determine the usability of and satisfaction toward a mobile app for the clinical monitoring of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) receiving oxygen therapy at home.

METHODS

This was a participative-qualitative study focused on final users-with direct intervention by patients and professionals-consisting of three phases as follows: (i) medium-fidelity mockups design, (ii) development of a usability test for each user profile, and (iii) assessment of the satisfaction level regarding the usability of the mobile app. A sample was established and selected through non-probability convenience sampling and was divided into two groups as follows: healthcare professionals (n = 13) and patients (n = 7). Each participant received a smartphone with mockup designs. The "think-aloud" method was applied in the usability test. Participants were audio recorded and the anonymous transcriptions were analyzed, highlighting fragments about mockups characteristics and the usability test. The difficulty level of the tasks was assessed with a scale from 1 (very easy) to 5 (too difficult), and task non-completion was considered a critical mistake. The satisfaction level related to test usability was assessed with a 4-score Likert scale ranging from 4 (totally agree) to 1 (totally disagree).

RESULTS

Regarding the difficulty level, >60% of professionals described most tasks as "very easy" and 70% of patients as "easy." No participant made critical mistakes and both groups reported a high satisfaction level regarding the usability variables. The patient and professionals group required 18 and 11 min to complete all tasks, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Participants described the app as intuitive and easy to use. The usability satisfaction results show a high level of satisfaction for both groups. This positive assessment and performance in user tests showed that the mobile application was able to be apprehended and used by participants in the circumstances of use in the usability tests. Usability evaluation through satisfaction surveys and qualitative data analysis allows for greater insight into the use of mobile applications in healthcare.

A participatory process to design an app to improve adherence to anti-osteoporotic therapies: A development and usability study

Objective

The aim of the study was to develop an app to improve patients' adherence to therapy for osteoporosis and to test its usability.

Methods

In Phase I, the app functions needed to improve medication adherence were identified through a focus group with six patients with osteoporosis and a joint interview with two bone specialists. The app prototype was then developed (Phase II) and refined after its feasibility testing (Phase III) for 13-25 days by eight patients. Finally, the app underwent usability testing (Phase IV) for 6 months by nine other patients. The mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ) was used to collect the assessment of the app by the 17 patients.

Results

The final version of the app provided information on osteoporosis, allowed patients to contact the bone specialist for an additional consultation, and generated a reminder for taking medications accompanied by feedback on adherence. The assessment of the app was positive but evaluations differed between the feasibility and usability testing, with the former displaying a significantly (p ≤ .05) better assessment across all MAUQ items.

Conclusions

In this study, we tested an app for improving adherence to medical therapies in patients with osteoporosis. The usability testing revealed a lower "patient-centered" performance of the app as compared to that observed during the feasibility phase. Future developments of the study include increasing the testing cohort and adding a technical support during the usability testing.

Tuberculosis Treatment Compliance under Smartphone-based Video-Observed Therapy versus Community-based Directly Observed Therapy: A Protocol of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

Background

The health care system in Thailand has struggled to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in decreased administration of community-based directly observed therapy (DOT) for tuberculosis (TB). As an alternative to failed DOT, video-observed therapy (VOT) or the Thai asynchronous VOT system, “TH VOT,” was devised. We developed a protocol for a study to test the superiority of VOT over DOT in ensuring treatment compliance.

Objective

We aim to compare the mean cumulative compliance days of TB patients and their observers under the VOT program with that of individuals under the DOT program during the intensive phase of TB treatment.

Methods

A cluster randomized controlled trial of pulmonary TB patients and their observers will be conducted over a 2-month period. This study will be conducted in the Hat Yai and Meuang Songkhla districts of Songkhla Province, Southern Thailand. A total of 38 observers working at 38 primary care units (PCUs) will be randomized equally into VOT and DOT groups. The TH VOT system will be implemented in 19 PCUs in the VOT group while the other 19 PCUs will continue with the traditional DOT program. Approximately 1-5 TB patients will be under observation, depending on the PCU jurisdiction in which the patients reside. The inclusion criteria for TB patients will be as follows: patients diagnosed with newly active pulmonary TB with a positive acid-fast bacilli sputum smear, aged >18 years, own a smartphone, and are able to use the LINE (Line Corporation) app. The exclusion criteria will be patients with a condition that requires the intervention of a specialist, rifampicin resistance according to a cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (GeneXpert MTB/RIF), unable to continue the treatment, and/or alcohol dependence. After the 2-month observation period, all sessions and follow-up clinical outcomes recorded will be retrieved. An intention-to-treat analysis will be performed to assess the compliance of both patients undergoing drug administration and their observers.

Results

The Human Research Ethics Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University approved the trial on February 19, 2021 (approval number 64-03618-9). The trial was funded in May 2021. The recruitment period will be from January 2022 to July 2022. The observation is scheduled to end by September 2022.

Conclusions

If the VOT shows superiority in observational compliance among patients and observers, the existing DOT policy will be replaced with VOT.

Trial Registration

Thai Clinical Trials Registry TCTR20210624002; https://www.thaiclinicaltrials.org/show/TCTR20210624002

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/38796