Self-report user interfaces for patients with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases: App review and usability experiments with mobile user interface components

Abstract

Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMDs) affect 120 million Europeans and are responsible for joint inflammation, stiffness, pain, and fatigue. Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs), essential to diagnosis and treatment adjustments, are expected to revolutionise rheumatology care if mobile apps reach clinical practice. However, patients often experience finger dexterity issues that can hinder their interaction with mobile apps. This paper investigates the interaction of patients with RMDs with mobile apps for self-report. We started by reviewing existing iPhone and Android apps for RMDs, to identify common user interface (UI) components, and conducted usability experiments with 20 patients with RMDs to record their performance. The usability experiments showed that in-line selectors are the best-performing UI component and that column selectors are considered the most usable by patients. Sliders perform worse than in-line selectors, with significant differences. Results also showed little difference between test conditions aligned with mobile UI design guidelines and those that provided larger or more spaced targets, leading us to conclude that following existing Apple Human Interface Guidelines and Android Material Design will lead to apps with UIs that are appropriate for patients with RMDs.