Abstract
BackgroundConcussion is a common injury among Canadian children and adolescents that leads to a range of neurobehavioral deficits. However, noticeable gaps continue to exist in the management of pediatric concussion, with poor health outcomes associated with the inadequate application of best practice guidelines.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to describe the development and assess the usability of a mobile phone app to aid youth in the self-management of concussion. A secondary objective was to assess the usefulness of the app.MethodsAn agile user-centered design approach was used to develop the technology, followed by a formative lab-based usability study for assessment and improvement proposals. Youths aged 10 to 18 years with a history of concussion and health care professionals involved in concussion management were recruited. This study included participants performing 12 tasks with the mobile phone app while using the think aloud protocol and the administration of the System Usability Scale (SUS), posttest questionnaire, and a semistructured interview.ResultsA mobile phone app prototype called NeuroCare, an easily accessible pediatric concussion management intervention that provides easy access to expert-informed concussion management strategies and helps guide youth in self-managing and tracking their concussion recovery, was developed. A total of 7 youths aged between 10 and 18 years with a history of concussion and 7 health care professionals were recruited. The mean SUS score was 81.9, mean task success rates were greater than 90% for 92% (11/12) of the tasks, 92% (11/12) of tasks had a total error frequency of less than 11 errors, and mean task completion times were less than 2 min for 100% of the tasks.ConclusionsResults suggest that participants rated this app as highly usable, acceptable to users, and that it may be useful in helping youth self-manage concussion.
Highlights
BackgroundConcussion is a common injury [1,2] (200 per 100,000 [3]) among Canadian children and adolescents that leads to a range of neurobehavioral deficits including combinations of somatic, physical, cognitive, and emotional and behavioral symptoms [4]
A total of 14 participants were recruited for this study: 7 youth with a history of concussion and 7 health care professionals involved with concussion assessment, management, or research
Neuropsychologists Occupational therapists School nurses Physical medicine and rehabilitation physician Years of work experience in this role, mean (SD) I find all youth in Canada are given enough information to manage their concussion, n (%) Disagreed/strongly disagreed Slightly disagreed I find pediatric concussion is managed in a consistent and standardized manner by all health care professionals in Canada: disagreed/strongly disagreed, n (%) I either own, or have daily access to, a smartphone, n (%) I either own, or have daily access to, a tablet, n (%)
Summary
Concussion is a common injury [1,2] (200 per 100,000 [3]) among Canadian children and adolescents that leads to a range of neurobehavioral deficits including combinations of somatic, physical, cognitive, and emotional and behavioral symptoms [4]. These postconcussion symptoms can have a significant impact on the functional participation of youth in daily activities, such as sports, school, as well as family and social activities [3,5,6]. Conclusions: Results suggest that participants rated this app as highly usable, acceptable to users, and that it may be useful in helping youth self-manage concussion
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