Kathrin Machetanz, Mario Lins, Constantin Roder, Georgios Naros, Marcos Tatagiba, Helene Hurth
{"title":"面部神经康复的创新移动应用程序解决方案:可用性分析。","authors":"Kathrin Machetanz, Mario Lins, Constantin Roder, Georgios Naros, Marcos Tatagiba, Helene Hurth","doi":"10.3389/fdgth.2024.1471426","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Facial palsy after vestibular schwannoma surgery is temporary in many cases but can significantly affect patients' quality of life. Physical training-initially guided and subsequently performed by the patient-is of paramount importance for recovery of facial nerve function. The introduction of medical application software (apps) might improve therapy by maintaining motivation for daily home-based training and surveilling patients' rehabilitation progress.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We developed a mobile app, \"FACEsemper\", for home-based facial nerve rehabilitation. This app guides patients through a daily training program comprising six variable exercises, each performed in three repetitions. The app allows the user to customize the exercise intensity for different facial areas and includes a reminder function for daily training. Additional features include photo documentation, a calendar function, training report generation, and the possibility of direct communication with the attending physician. The app's usability was prospectively investigated with 27 subjects, including 8 physicians, 9 patients with facial palsy and 10 healthy subjects, over a two-week period. Usability was assessed using various self-rating questionnaires (i.e., mHealth App Usability Questionnaire, MAUQ; System Usability Scale, SUS; Visual Aesthetics of Apps Inventory, VisAAI) and scores were compared across the groups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The participants reported an average smartphone use of 12.19 years and completed a mean number of 290 ± 163 facial exercises during the study period. Patients used the app significantly more frequently than the other two groups (<i>p</i> = 0.017). The average total scores of the questionnaires were: MAUQ 5.67/7, SUS 89.6/100, VisAAI 5.88/7 and specific rating 6.13/7. In particular, the simplicity of use and craftsmanship of the app were rated very highly. Usability scores did not significantly differ between groups. A primary limitation identified was malfunction of the daily reminder feature in some Android versions.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This usability study demonstrated a positive user experience and excellent usability of the FACEsemper app. However, some limitations and areas for improvement were identified. As a next step, the app should be evaluated in a large patient cohort with facial palsy to determine its potential medical benefits for facial rehabilitation compared to traditional training methods.</p>","PeriodicalId":73078,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in digital health","volume":"6 ","pages":"1471426"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11532141/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Innovative mobile app solution for facial nerve rehabilitation: a usability analysis.\",\"authors\":\"Kathrin Machetanz, Mario Lins, Constantin Roder, Georgios Naros, Marcos Tatagiba, Helene Hurth\",\"doi\":\"10.3389/fdgth.2024.1471426\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Facial palsy after vestibular schwannoma surgery is temporary in many cases but can significantly affect patients' quality of life. Physical training-initially guided and subsequently performed by the patient-is of paramount importance for recovery of facial nerve function. The introduction of medical application software (apps) might improve therapy by maintaining motivation for daily home-based training and surveilling patients' rehabilitation progress.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We developed a mobile app, \\\"FACEsemper\\\", for home-based facial nerve rehabilitation. This app guides patients through a daily training program comprising six variable exercises, each performed in three repetitions. The app allows the user to customize the exercise intensity for different facial areas and includes a reminder function for daily training. Additional features include photo documentation, a calendar function, training report generation, and the possibility of direct communication with the attending physician. The app's usability was prospectively investigated with 27 subjects, including 8 physicians, 9 patients with facial palsy and 10 healthy subjects, over a two-week period. Usability was assessed using various self-rating questionnaires (i.e., mHealth App Usability Questionnaire, MAUQ; System Usability Scale, SUS; Visual Aesthetics of Apps Inventory, VisAAI) and scores were compared across the groups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The participants reported an average smartphone use of 12.19 years and completed a mean number of 290 ± 163 facial exercises during the study period. Patients used the app significantly more frequently than the other two groups (<i>p</i> = 0.017). The average total scores of the questionnaires were: MAUQ 5.67/7, SUS 89.6/100, VisAAI 5.88/7 and specific rating 6.13/7. In particular, the simplicity of use and craftsmanship of the app were rated very highly. Usability scores did not significantly differ between groups. A primary limitation identified was malfunction of the daily reminder feature in some Android versions.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This usability study demonstrated a positive user experience and excellent usability of the FACEsemper app. However, some limitations and areas for improvement were identified. As a next step, the app should be evaluated in a large patient cohort with facial palsy to determine its potential medical benefits for facial rehabilitation compared to traditional training methods.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":73078,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Frontiers in digital health\",\"volume\":\"6 \",\"pages\":\"1471426\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":3.2000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-10-21\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11532141/pdf/\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Frontiers in digital health\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"1085\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2024.1471426\",\"RegionNum\":0,\"RegionCategory\":null,\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"2024/1/1 0:00:00\",\"PubModel\":\"eCollection\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Frontiers in digital health","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2024.1471426","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
Innovative mobile app solution for facial nerve rehabilitation: a usability analysis.
Background: Facial palsy after vestibular schwannoma surgery is temporary in many cases but can significantly affect patients' quality of life. Physical training-initially guided and subsequently performed by the patient-is of paramount importance for recovery of facial nerve function. The introduction of medical application software (apps) might improve therapy by maintaining motivation for daily home-based training and surveilling patients' rehabilitation progress.
Methods: We developed a mobile app, "FACEsemper", for home-based facial nerve rehabilitation. This app guides patients through a daily training program comprising six variable exercises, each performed in three repetitions. The app allows the user to customize the exercise intensity for different facial areas and includes a reminder function for daily training. Additional features include photo documentation, a calendar function, training report generation, and the possibility of direct communication with the attending physician. The app's usability was prospectively investigated with 27 subjects, including 8 physicians, 9 patients with facial palsy and 10 healthy subjects, over a two-week period. Usability was assessed using various self-rating questionnaires (i.e., mHealth App Usability Questionnaire, MAUQ; System Usability Scale, SUS; Visual Aesthetics of Apps Inventory, VisAAI) and scores were compared across the groups.
Results: The participants reported an average smartphone use of 12.19 years and completed a mean number of 290 ± 163 facial exercises during the study period. Patients used the app significantly more frequently than the other two groups (p = 0.017). The average total scores of the questionnaires were: MAUQ 5.67/7, SUS 89.6/100, VisAAI 5.88/7 and specific rating 6.13/7. In particular, the simplicity of use and craftsmanship of the app were rated very highly. Usability scores did not significantly differ between groups. A primary limitation identified was malfunction of the daily reminder feature in some Android versions.
Conclusion: This usability study demonstrated a positive user experience and excellent usability of the FACEsemper app. However, some limitations and areas for improvement were identified. As a next step, the app should be evaluated in a large patient cohort with facial palsy to determine its potential medical benefits for facial rehabilitation compared to traditional training methods.