Background: Mobile technology is underutilized in patient-centered healthcare. Mobile applications (apps) may allow stroke survivors/caregivers to actively participate in stroke-related care/needs.
Objective: Investigate preferences of stroke survivors and caregivers for mobile apps to facilitate post-stroke care/needs.
Subjects & methods: Nationwide survey of 17 questions distributed to 11,720 stroke survivors/caregivers identified from National Stroke Association's database via e-/postal mail, including introduction letter and IRB-approved consent. The survey was developed using formative focus groups in Brooklyn and Colorado. Qualitative information about current smartphone usage/interest in health-related apps was collected. Preferences were explored by gender/race/ethnicity/age/education using χ2.
Results: 1221 survivors and 396 caregivers responded (14% response). Scheduling doctor/rehab appointments was preferred by survivors and caregivers of all ethnicities, with doctor appointments/medication reminder/blood pressure tracking as most favored by both. App usefulness declined with age (χ2 = 19.7, p = 0.02). App with rehab exercises was more cited by younger survivors with older wanting trustworthy medical information (χ2 = 41.4, p < 0.001). App to find local stroke-related resources was preferred by the majority of caregivers and stroke survivors. More Afro-Caribbean/American survivors (42%) preferred use of stroke support groups vs. Hispanics (36%) or Caucasians (28%), χ2 = 45.1, p < 0.001 as did younger (χ2 = 41.3, p < 0.001). App tracking fitness/diet was more desired by the majority of stroke survivors than caregivers. App facilitating stroke survivors' communication was highly favored by survivors while not considered useful by the majority of caregivers.
Conclusions: Developing relevant apps requires feedback from users. We identified useful key features reported by stroke survivors and caregivers to build a stroke-dedicated app.
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© 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc.
