Richardson Julie, Letts Lori, Sinclair Susanne, Chan David, Miller Jordan, Donnelly Catherine, Smith-Turchyn Jenna, Wojkowski Sarah, Gravesande Janelle, Loyola Sánchez Adalberto
School of Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol. 2021 Mar 18;8(1):e19519. doi: 10.2196/19519.
The global rise in the incidence of chronic conditions and aging is associated with increased disability. Physiotherapists and occupational therapists 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 to 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 support and services.
This study aims to describe the development and usability evaluation of iamable, a web-based app created to provide rehabilitation self-management support for people with chronic conditions.
The development and evaluation of iamable were undertaken in several phases. We used user-centered design principles and an iterative process that included consultations with rehabilitation experts; developed a prototype; and conducted usability tests, heuristic evaluations, and a focus group analysis.
The iamable app 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 aged ≥45 years with at least one chronic condition (N=11) in usability testing. They identified navigation and the understanding of 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 selecting patients and overcoming barriers to implementation.
We engaged end users and clinicians in the development and evaluation of the iamable app in an effort to create a web-based tool that was useful to therapists and their patients. By addressing usability issues, we were able to ensure that patients had access to rehabilitation strategies that could be used to help them better manage their health. Our app also provides therapists with a platform that they can trust to empower their patients to be more active in the management of chronic conditions. This paper provides a resource that can be used by others to develop and evaluate web-based health apps.
慢性病发病率的全球上升以及人口老龄化与残疾率增加相关。物理治疗师和职业治疗师凭借其在优化功能方面的专业知识，可以减轻由此给医疗保健系统带来的负担。康复自我管理策略可以帮助慢性病患者接受、调整和管理其日常功能的不同方面。利用技术提供的干预措施有可能提高康复自我管理支持和服务的可及性、可用性和可承受性。
本研究旨在描述iamable的开发和可用性评估，iamable是一款基于网络的应用程序，旨在为慢性病患者提供康复自我管理支持。
iamable的开发和评估分几个阶段进行。我们采用以用户为中心的设计原则和迭代过程，其中包括与康复专家进行磋商；开发一个原型；并进行可用性测试、启发式评估和焦点小组分析。
iamable应用程序旨在在运动、预防跌倒、疲劳管理、疼痛管理、身体活动和压力管理等领域提供康复自我管理策略。我们让年龄≥45岁且患有至少一种慢性病的成年人（N = 11）参与可用性测试。他们将导航和对说明的理解确定为最终用户的主要问题。在启发式评估期间，临床医生（N = 6）建议应用程序内容的某些领域应更加简洁，并且帮助应更易于获取。焦点小组提供了有助于指导临床模拟测试的意见，包括选择患者的策略和克服实施障碍的方法。
我们让最终用户和临床医生参与iamable应用程序的开发和评估，以努力创建一个对治疗师及其患者有用的基于网络的工具。通过解决可用性问题，我们能够确保患者能够获得可用于帮助他们更好地管理健康的康复策略。我们的应用程序还为治疗师提供了一个他们可以信赖的平台，使他们能够使患者在慢性病管理中更加积极主动。本文提供了一种资源，可供其他人用于开发和评估基于网络的健康应用程序。
