JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Homework completion is strongly linked to therapy outcomes, yet compliance remains low, potentially due to outdated delivery methods such as paper or email. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies may improve engagement by digitizing therapy tasks and tracking progress. Yosa is a mobile health solution designed to facilitate homework delivery and enhance engagement between sessions for patients in therapy.

Objective:

This investigation aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of Yosa among licensed therapists and current therapy patients using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to inform iterative development and future deployment.

Methods:

Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted: Study 1 with licensed therapists (N = 45) and study 2 with current therapy patients (N = 96). Participants viewed video demonstrations, learned about Yosa’s homework feature, therapy journal, and the overall app, and rated the app on TAM constructs, including perceived usefulness, perceived ease-of-use, perceived risk, attitude toward, and intention to use Yosa, using 0-100 scales. Acceptability was defined as scores ≥ 66.6, except for risk (≤ 33.3). Survey qualitative feedback was analyzed thematically.

Results:

Among therapists, acceptability thresholds were met for perceived usefulness of the therapy journal (M = 77.85, 95% CI [73.48–82.22]) and overall app (M = 77.97, 95% CI [71.89–84.06]), perceived ease-of-use (M = 83.00, 95% CI [79.55–86.45]), and attitude toward Yosa (M = 79.37, 95% CI [74.88–83.85]). In contrast, perceived usefulness of the homework feature (M = 70.46, 95% CI [63.74–77.18]), perceived risk (M = 29.84, 95% CI [22.58–37.09]), and intention to use (M = 61.08, 95% CI [51.97–70.18]) did not meet thresholds. Among patients, all domains except perceived risk met acceptability criteria, including perceived usefulness of the overall app (M = 77.10, 95% CI [73.34–80.86]), ease-of-use (M = 85.58, 95% CI [82.96–88.19]), attitude (M = 78.42, 95% CI [74.74–82.11]), and intention to use (M = 79.53, 95% CI [75.21–83.84]). Perceived risk narrowly exceeded the acceptable threshold (M = 33.62, 95% CI [28.44–38.79]). Qualitative themes included requests for additional features, usability enhancements, and data privacy concerns.

Conclusions:

Overall, therapists and patients had positive attitudes toward Yosa, finding it useful and easy-to-use, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic tool. Qualitative feedback informed refinements aimed at reducing perceived risk and enhancing intention to use.