Accepted for/Published in: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Date Submitted: Feb 22, 2024
Date Accepted: Aug 7, 2024
Patient engagement in a mobile application-based rehabilitation programme for total hip or knee arthroplasty: secondary data analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
Healthcare professionals use mobile applications to support patients’ rehabilitation after total hip or knee arthroplasty. Understanding patient engagement in such mobile health interventions can help tailor these interventions to better support patients.
Objective:
This study aimed to investigate patient engagement in a mobile application-based arthroplasty rehabilitation programme and to investigate the association between patient engagement and their characteristics.
Methods:
Data were extracted from a pool of 42 participants in the experimental arm of a randomised controlled trial that used a mobile application (WeChat®)-based programme to support patients’ rehabilitation after total hip or knee arthroplasty. The primary outcomes were the number of days the participants accessed the programme and completed recommended rehabilitation tasks. Secondary outcomes included data on the participants’ posts on a discussion forum, messages sent by the participants, access to the programme components, and the programme content was read and shared. Generalised linear models were used to analyse the association between patient engagement and personal characteristics.
Results:
The participants reported in a rehabilitation diary accessing the programme on a mean of 5.2 (SD = 2.0) days per week and completing recommended rehabilitation tasks on a mean of 6.5 (SD = 0.8) days per week. The majority (31/42, 74%) posted on the discussion forum, with a mean of 18.1 (SD = 21.2) posts. Most participants (37/42, 88%) sent messages to healthcare professionals, with a mean of 14.0 (SD = 21.2) messages. The programme components were visited a total of 525 times. The programme content was read 898 times and shared 82 times in total. Generalised linear models showed that both primary outcomes, the number of days the participants accessed the programme (B = 6.46, 95% CI = 1.98 – 15.35, Chi-square = 11.09, P < .001) and the number of days they completed rehabilitation tasks (B = 2.65, 95% CI = 0.45 – 5.48, Chi-square = 5.70, P = .02), were positively associated with having a high school education or above. In addition, the number of posts on the discussion forum was positively associated with living with family, having a high school education or above, undergoing total knee arthroplasty, having comorbidities, and the score of self-efficacy, but negatively associated with age. The number of messages sent by the participants was positively associated with having a high school education or above, having comorbidities, and the score of self-efficacy.
Conclusions:
Patient engagement in mobile arthroplasty rehabilitation is associated with their education level, cohabitation status, age, type of surgery, comorbidities, and sense of self-efficacy. Programme developers can consider these characteristics and employ strategies, such as family involvement, in the design of mobile arthroplasty rehabilitation programmes to enhance patient engagement in such interventions. Clinical Trial: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12621000867897; http://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12621000867897.aspx
Citation
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Copyright
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