Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Department of Computer Science, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2024 Mar 21;12:e51592. doi: 10.2196/51592.
The prevalence of chronic wounds is predicted to increase within the aging populations in industrialized countries. Patients experience significant distress due to pain, wound secretions, and the resulting immobilization. As the number of wounds continues to rise, their adequate care becomes increasingly costly in terms of health care resources worldwide. eHealth support systems are being increasingly integrated into patient care. However, to date, no systematic analysis of such apps for chronic wounds has been published.
The aims of this study were to systematically identify and subjectively assess publicly available German- or English-language mobile apps for patients with chronic wounds, with quality assessments performed by both patients and physicians.
Two reviewers independently conducted a systematic search and assessment of German- or English-language mobile apps for patients with chronic wounds that were available in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store from April 2022 to May 2022. In total, 3 apps met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were reviewed independently by 10 physicians using the German Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) and the System Usability Scale (SUS). The app with the highest mean MARS score was subsequently reviewed by 11 patients with chronic wounds using the German user version of the MARS (uMARS) and the SUS. Additionally, Affinity for Technology Interaction (ATI) scale scores were collected from both patients and physicians.
This study assessed mobile apps for patients with chronic wounds that were selected from a pool of 118 identified apps. Of the 73 apps available in both app stores, 10 were patient oriented. After excluding apps with advertisements or costs, 3 apps were evaluated by 10 physicians. Mean MARS scores ranged from 2.64 (SD 0.65) to 3.88 (SD 0.65) out of 5, and mean SUS scores ranged from 50.75 (SD 27) to 80.5 (SD 17.7) out of 100. WUND APP received the highest mean MARS score (mean 3.88, SD 0.65 out of 5) among physicians. Hence, it was subsequently assessed by 11 patients and achieved a similar rating (uMARS score: mean 3.89, SD 0.4 out of 5). Technical affinity, as measured with the ATI scale, was slightly lower in patients (score: mean 3.62, SD 1.35 out of 6) compared to physicians (score: mean 3.88, SD 1.03 out 6).
The quality ratings from physicians and patients were comparable and indicated mediocre app quality. Technical affinity, as assessed by using the ATI scale, was slightly lower for patients. Adequate apps for patients with chronic wounds remain limited, emphasizing the need for improved app development to meet patient needs. The ATI scale proved valuable for assessing technical affinity among different user groups.
预计在工业化国家的老龄化人口中，慢性伤口的患病率将会增加。患者会因疼痛、伤口分泌物以及由此导致的固定而感到极大的痛苦。随着伤口数量的持续增加，全球医疗保健资源对其的充分治疗变得越来越昂贵。电子健康支持系统正越来越多地融入到患者护理中。然而，迄今为止，尚未发表过针对慢性伤口的此类应用程序的系统分析。
本研究旨在系统地识别和主观评估可用于慢性伤口患者的德语或英语移动应用程序，并由患者和医生进行质量评估。
两名审查员分别对 2022 年 4 月至 2022 年 5 月期间可在谷歌 Play 商店和苹果应用商店获得的用于慢性伤口患者的德语或英语移动应用程序进行了系统搜索和评估。共有 3 个应用程序符合纳入和排除标准，并由 10 名医生使用德国移动应用程序评级量表（MARS）和系统可用性量表（SUS）进行独立评估。具有最高平均 MARS 评分的应用程序随后由 11 名慢性伤口患者使用德国 MARS 用户版本（uMARS）和 SUS 进行评估。此外，还从患者和医生那里收集了对技术的亲和力（ATI）量表评分。
本研究评估了从 118 个已识别应用程序中选择的用于慢性伤口患者的移动应用程序。在两个应用商店中，有 73 个应用程序是面向患者的。在排除带有广告或费用的应用程序后，有 3 个应用程序由 10 名医生进行了评估。平均 MARS 评分范围为 5 分制的 2.64（SD 0.65）至 3.88（SD 0.65），平均 SUS 评分范围为 100 分制的 50.75（SD 27）至 80.5（SD 17.7）。WUND APP 在医生中获得了最高的平均 MARS 评分（平均 3.88，SD 0.65 分）。因此，它随后由 11 名患者进行了评估，并获得了类似的评分（uMARS 评分：平均 3.89，SD 0.4 分）。使用 ATI 量表测量的技术亲和力在患者中略低（评分：平均 3.62，SD 1.35 分），而在医生中则略高（评分：平均 3.88，SD 1.03 分）。
医生和患者的质量评分相当，表明应用程序质量一般。使用 ATI 量表评估的技术亲和力在患者中略低。适合慢性伤口患者的应用程序仍然有限，这强调了需要改进应用程序开发以满足患者的需求。ATI 量表对于评估不同用户群体的技术亲和力非常有用。
