JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Mobile health (mHealth) apps have the potential to be an effective tool to encourage patients with chronic diseases to self-manage their health. Given that the success of the mHealth apps is related to the acceptance of technology and its subsequent use by intended consumers, it is essential to gain in-depth insights from consumers’ perspectives about their use of mHealth apps in daily life.

Objective:

The purpose of this work is to report an innovative approach to understanding consumers’ perspectives following the clinical trial of a mHealth self-management intervention.

Methods:

We conducted five focus groups with clinical trial participants who were randomized to use Video Information Provider (VIP) for HIV-associated non-AIDS (HANA) conditions App or an attention control app. A thematic analysis was conducted, and the themes were organized by the two key constructs of the technology acceptance model framework: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Additionally, we assessed app use through analysis of log files.

Results:

Thirty-nine persons living with HIV (20 from the intervention group and 19 from the control group) participated in the focus group sessions. Of the ten themes identified from focus group data, the five themes related to perceived usefulness were: 1) self-monitoring HIV-related symptoms of HANA conditions; 2) enhanced relationship with clinical providers; 3) improvement in physical and emotional health; 4) long-term impact of self-care strategies on improvement in symptoms of HANA conditions; and 5) inspired lifestyle changes to manage symptoms. The three themes related to perceived ease of use were: 1) easy to navigate; 2) avatar personalization; and 3) privacy/confidentiality maintained even when changing location of app use.

Conclusions:

We captured valuable perspectives of both study group participants. While perceived ease of use was similar in both study groups, perceived usefulness differed between study groups. Participants in both study groups found the VIP-HANA app to be useful in monitoring their symptoms and enhancing communication with their clinical providers. Intervention group participants perceived the app to be useful in improving overall health and long-term symptom management. Findings from this study highlight the importance of meeting patients’ information needs, avatar selection, and a visual summary of patient health information for future mHealth apps. Clinical Trial: NCT03182738