JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Heart failure (HF) is a serious public health concern that afflicts millions of individuals in the United States (US). Development of behaviors that promote HF self-care may be imperative to reduce complications and to avoid hospital readmissions. Mobile health (mHealth) solutions, such as Fitbit activity trackers and smartphone applications, could potentially help to promote self-care through remote tracking and issuing reminders.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to ascertain HF patients’ interest in a smartphone application to assist them in managing their treatment and symptoms, and to determine factors that influence their interest in such an application.

Methods:

In the clinic waiting room on the day of their outpatient clinic appointments, 50 HF patients participated in a self-administered survey. The survey consisted of 139 questions from previously published, institutional review board-approved questionnaires. The survey measured patients’ interest in and experience using technology, as well as their function, HF symptoms, and HF self-care behaviors. The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) was among the 11 questionnaires and was used to measure the HF patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL) through patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

Results:

Patients were 64.5 years of age on average, women 32.0%, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II or higher 91.1%. Greater than 60% of the survey participants expressed interest in several potential features of a smartphone application designed for HF patients. Participant age correlated negatively with interest in tracking, tips, and reminders in multivariate regression analysis (p < 0.05). In contrast, MLHFQ scores (worse health status) produced positive correlations with these interests (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

The majority of HF patients showed interest in activity tracking, HF symptom management tips, and reminder features of a smartphone application. Desirable features and an understanding of factors that influence patient interest in a smartphone application for HF self-care may allow researchers to address common concerns and to develop applications that demonstrate the potential benefits of mobile technology.