Usability evaluation of an educational self-care mobile-based application for hypertensive patients

Background: Although self-care behaviors are one of the main determinant factors in controlling hypertension and preventing its complications, self-care compliance is relatively low. Mobile health applications (apps) are helpful devices for care delivering. An educational self-care mobile-based app can help hypertensive patients to control, monitor and prevent complications of hypertension. To be accepted by users, an app should be usable, otherwise it would be neglected and fail to help performing the tasks. Thus the aim of this study is to evaluate usability of the designed educational self-care mobile-based app for hypertensive patients. Material and Methods: This one group before- after study was conducted in 2017. The app was developed based on development cycle of information systems including analysis, design, implementation, and evaluation. 52 hypertensive patients from heart clinic affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) participated in evaluation phase. To evaluate usability Monem et al. questionnaire was applied. Learnability (6 questions), efficiency (4 questions), error (3 questions), and satisfaction (5 questions) were the questionnaire dimension. Data were analyzed using SPSS 19 and descriptive analysis. Results: The results showed that the most average was related to satisfaction (4.27 ± 0.34) and then learnability (4.01 ± 0.26) and efficiency (4.00 ± 0.41) respectively; error gained the least average (3.91 ± 0.46). Among satisfaction phrases “loading of the app pages is fast” achieved the most average (4.60 ± 0.60) and “the app provides appropriate instruction for learning and using it” ,in learnability dimension, earned the least average (2.64 ± 0.60). The total average of usability was 4.07 ± 0.21 regarding as usable. Conclusion: Apparently by instructing the required material about self-care and providing other capabilities like drug reminder and displaying blood pressure changes as a chart, the app could increase patient’s awareness about the self-care behaviors adherence in addition to motivate them to deploy the app and cause the app efficiency, usefulness, and satisfactory as a result. However it is better to revise the app for improving “error” dimension if it is supposed to be applied in a larger population like preventive interventions of health deputies, general practitioners, and cardiologists.

کلیدواژه ها:

M-health ، selfcare ، usability