Fundacion iSYS (internet, Salud y Sociedad), Barcelona, Spain.
Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2021 Jul 21;9(7):e17660. doi: 10.2196/17660.
The presence of mobile phone and smart devices has allowed for the use of mobile apps to support patient care. However, there is a paucity in our knowledge regarding recommendations for mobile apps specific to health care professionals.
The aim of this study is to establish a validated instrument to assess mobile apps for health care providers and health systems. Our objective is to create and validate a tool that evaluates mobile health apps aimed at health care professionals based on a trust, utility, and interest scale.
A five-step methodology framework guided our approach. The first step consisted of building a scale to evaluate apps for health care professionals based on a literature review. This was followed with expert panel validation through a Delphi method of (rated) web-based questionnaires to empirically evaluate the inclusion and weight of the indicators identified through the literature review. Repeated iterations were followed until a consensus greater than 75% was reached. The scale was then tested using a pilot to assess reliability. Interrater agreement of the pilot was measured using a weighted Cohen kappa.
Using a literature review, a first draft of the scale was developed. This was followed with two Delphi rounds between the local research group and an external panel of experts. After consensus was reached, the resulting ISYScore-Pro 17-item scale was tested. A total of 280 apps were originally identified for potential testing (140 iOS apps and 140 Android apps). These were categorized using International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision. Once duplicates were removed and they were downloaded to confirm their specificity to the target audience (ie, health care professionals), 66 remained. Of these, only 18 met the final criteria for inclusion in validating the ISYScore-Pro scale (interrator reliabilty 92.2%; kappa 0.840, 95% CI 0.834-0.847; P<.001).
We have developed a reproducible methodology to objectively evaluate mobile health apps targeted to health care professionals and providers, the ISYScore-Pro scale. Future research will be needed to adapt the scale to other languages and across other domains (eg, legal compliance or security).
移动电话和智能设备的出现使得使用移动应用程序来支持患者护理成为可能。然而，我们对特定于医疗保健专业人员的移动应用程序的建议知之甚少。
本研究旨在建立一个经过验证的工具，用于评估医疗保健提供者和医疗系统的移动应用程序。我们的目标是创建和验证一个工具，该工具基于信任、效用和兴趣量表评估针对医疗保健专业人员的移动健康应用程序。
我们的方法采用了五步方法论框架。第一步是根据文献综述构建一个评估医疗保健专业人员应用程序的量表。接下来，通过德尔菲法（基于评分的网络问卷）进行专家小组验证，以实证评估通过文献综述确定的指标的纳入和权重。然后进行重复迭代，直到达成 75%以上的共识。然后使用试点来评估可靠性来测试该量表。使用加权 Cohen kappa 来衡量试点的评分者间一致性。
使用文献综述，开发了量表的初稿。接下来，在当地研究小组和外部专家小组之间进行了两轮德尔菲调查。达成共识后，得出了 17 项的 ISYScore-Pro 量表。最初确定了 280 个应用程序进行潜在测试（140 个 iOS 应用程序和 140 个 Android 应用程序）。这些应用程序使用国际疾病分类第十版进行分类。在删除重复项并下载以确认它们针对目标受众（即医疗保健专业人员）的特异性后，还剩下 66 个。其中，只有 18 个符合纳入 ISYScore-Pro 量表的最终标准（评分者间可靠性 92.2%；kappa 0.840，95%CI 0.834-0.847；P<.001）。
我们已经开发了一种可重复的方法来客观评估针对医疗保健专业人员和提供者的移动健康应用程序，即 ISYScore-Pro 量表。未来的研究将需要将该量表适应其他语言和其他领域（例如，法律合规或安全性）。
