JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The global rise in chronic conditions and aging is associated with increased disability. Physiotherapists therapists (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs) can mitigate the resulting burden on the health care system with their expertise in optimizing function. Rehabilitation self-management strategies can assist people with chronic conditions accept, adjust and manage different aspects of their daily functioning. Interventions delivered using technology have the potential to increase the accessibility, availability and affordability of rehabilitation self-management supports and services.

Objective:

To describe the development and usability evaluation of iamable, a web-based application (app) (www.iamable.ca) created to provide rehabilitation self-management support for people with chronic conditions.

Methods:

Development and evaluation of iamable was undertaken in several phases. We employed user-centred design principles, an iterative process that included consultation with rehabilitation experts, development of a prototype, usability testing, heuristic evaluation and a focus group.

Results:

The iamable application was developed to provide rehabilitation self-management strategies in the areas of exercise, fall prevention, fatigue management, pain management, physical activity and stress management. We engaged adults ≥45 years with at least 1 chronic condition (n=11) in usability testing, who identified navigation and understanding instructions as the primary issues for end-users. During the heuristic evaluation, clinicians (n=6) recommended that some areas of app content should be more succinct and that help should be more readily available. The focus group provided input to help guide clinical simulation testing, including strategies for patient selection and overcoming barriers to implementation.

Conclusions:

We have engaged end-users and clinicians in the development and evaluation of the iamable app in an effort to create a web-based tool that is useful to therapists and their patients. By addressing usability issues, we have been able to ensure that patients will have access to rehabilitation strategies that can be used to help them better manage their health. It also provides therapists with a platform they can trust to empower their patients to be more active in the management of their chronic condition. This paper provides a resource that can be used by others to develop and evaluate web-based health applications. Clinical Trial: Not applicable.