JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Patients with psoriasis (PsO) and atopic dermatitis (AD) are at increased risk of several vaccine-preventable diseases. Despite this increased susceptibility to infections, vaccination uptake in adults with PsO and AD, especially if treated with biologics and other systemic immunomodulators, is insufficient. As mobile health technologies may support behavior change, a mobile app called DermatoVax was developed to raise awareness of immunization in adult patients with PsO and AD.

Objective:

This paper aims to describe the processes of development and initial evaluation of the app.

Methods:

The app was conceived in a user-centered fashion. Its core component was the vaccine checker, which allows to produce a sharable list of recommended vaccines, immunization timings and eventual precautions from a short set of input data. App prototypes were extensively piloted and feedback from potential end-users was obtained to refine the app content. Quality of the final version was evaluated by 46 physicians using the user version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS).

Results:

Iterative steps during the app development process allowed us to increase its user-friendliness and comprehensibility. The average uMARS score was acceptable (4.22 out of 5). However, the mean uMARS scores for the quality dimensions of esthetics (3.88/5) and engagement (3.89/5) were lower than those of information (4.64/5) and functionality (4.47/5), suggesting margins for improvement. Most physicians believed that the app could increase patients’ knowledge of vaccinations (85%) and vaccination uptake (80%).

Conclusions:

DermatoVax is a promising tool to raise awareness of immunization in adult patients with PsO and AD. Further assessment of the app, such as its effectiveness in increasing vaccination uptake, is warranted.