34504 Mixed methods validation of a patient-centered educational atopic dermatitis mobile health application

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) has a complex disease course and treatment landscape; bidirectional exchange of disease and patient information is challenging within short a dermatology encounter. Patients often turn to digital resources to seek guidance for self-management, yet many current eczema apps insufficiently support evidence-based guidelines and lack patient engagement in their development. EczemaQ was co-developed with patients as an evidence-based mobile health educational tool to address this gap. In order to validate EczemaQ’s use with AD patient and clinician end-users, ethics approval was granted by the McGill University Center for Applied Ethics for an iterative, explanatory sequential mixed methods (QUAN-QUAL) study. First, quantitative (QUAN) data will be collected through Technology Acceptance Model 2 and Patient Activation Measure questionnaires to obtain preliminary app usability information, and analyzed via descriptive statistics. This data will then inform qualitative (QUAL) data collection via semi-structured focus groups to gain a deeper understanding of end-user priorities, analyzed via thematic analysis. Two QUAN-QUAL arms will occur simultaneously: one arm for patients (eligible patients diagnosed with AD), and one arm for clinicians (AD experts including dermatologists, nurses, pharmacists, and general physicians). A Beta version of the EczemaQ app will be created based on the first iteration of the two arms of the QUAN-QUAL model; EczemaQ Beta will then undergo a second iteration of the process to obtain a finalized EczemaQ app. We offer an example of an integrated knowledge translation tool, featuring genuine patient and clinician partnership, towards bettering AD patient care.