Publications
Usability and feasibility assessment of a smartphone application (Suhriday) for heart failure self-care remote monitoring
Bhuvana Kolar Bylappa 1, Deepak Y Kamath 2 3, Immaculate Sheela Josephine 3, Jabraan Shaikh 4, Anant Kamath 5, Preethi Rioniz 2, Shruthi Kulkarni 6, Kiron Varghese 4, Denis Xavier 2 3 Abstract
Background/objectives: Remote monitoring as a component of chronic heart failure (CHF) management programmes has demonstrated utility in reducing the risk of rehospitalisation and mortality. There is little evidence on mobile health app facilitated remote monitoring in India. We conducted a pilot usability and feasibility assessment of a smartphone-based application (Suhriday) to remotely monitor patients with CHF.
Methods: We used a mixed-methods design. Usability testing consisted of the think-aloud approach followed by semistructured in-depth interviews (SSIs) and a satisfaction questionnaire. Feasibility testing was done using acceptability and user satisfaction questionnaires in addition to SSIs. We trained five purposively sampled patients with CHF (based on health literacy and gender) and their caregivers (n=10) in self-care monitoring and app use. Usability was assessed using metrics such as task completion, time required for task completion and user satisfaction using Brooke's System Usability Scale (SUS). Content analysis of the transcripts with deductive coding was performed for both usability and feasibility interviews. The number and types of medical alerts transmitted through the app were captured and escalated to the treating team.
