Abstract
BackgroundHeart failure is a serious public health concern that afflicts millions of individuals in the United States. Development of behaviors that promote heart failure self-care may be imperative to reduce complications and avoid hospital re-admissions. Mobile health solutions, such as activity trackers and smartphone apps, could potentially help to promote self-care through remote tracking and issuing reminders.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to ascertain heart failure patients’ interest in a smartphone app to assist them in managing their treatment and symptoms and to determine factors that influence their interest in such an app.MethodsIn the clinic waiting room on the day of their outpatient clinic appointments, 50 heart failure patients participated in a self-administered survey. The survey comprised 139 questions from previously published, institutional review board–approved questionnaires. The survey measured patients’ interest in and experience using technology as well as their function, heart failure symptoms, and heart failure self-care behaviors. The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) was among the 11 questionnaires and was used to measure the heart failure patients’ health-related quality of life through patient-reported outcomes.ResultsParticipants were aged 64.5 years on average, 32% (16/50) of the participants were women, and 91% (41/45) of the participants were determined to be New York Heart Association Class II or higher. More than 60% (30/50) of the survey participants expressed interest in several potential features of a smartphone app designed for heart failure patients. Participant age correlated negatively with interest in tracking, tips, and reminders in multivariate regression analysis (P<.05). In contrast, MLHFQ scores (worse health status) produced positive correlations with these interests (P<.05).ConclusionsThe majority of heart failure patients showed interest in activity tracking, heart failure symptom management tips, and reminder features of a smartphone app. Desirable features and an understanding of factors that influence patient interest in a smartphone app for heart failure self-care may allow researchers to address common concerns and to develop apps that demonstrate the potential benefits of mobile technology.
Highlights
BackgroundHeart failure is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by the impairment of the heart’s function to fill or eject blood [1,2]
This study provides new information on the features that heart failure patients want from a smartphone app to assist them in managing their health
On the basis of our results, we propose that a smartphone app may be a viable minimally invasive alternative intervention for monitoring heart failure patients because of the generally positive reception, we note that data in this study were collected from a single site
Summary
Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by the impairment of the heart’s function to fill or eject blood [1,2] It is a major global health problem with an estimated prevalence of 6.5 million adults in the United States [3] and 37.7 million people worldwide [4]. Development of behaviors that promote heart failure self-care may be imperative to reduce complications and avoid hospital re-admissions Mobile health solutions, such as activity trackers and smartphone apps, could potentially help to promote self-care through remote tracking and issuing reminders. Conclusions: The majority of heart failure patients showed interest in activity tracking, heart failure symptom management tips, and reminder features of a smartphone app. Desirable features and an understanding of factors that influence patient interest in a smartphone app for heart failure self-care may allow researchers to address common concerns and to develop apps that demonstrate the potential benefits of mobile technology
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