A Yoga Exercise App Designed for Patients With Axial Spondylarthritis: Development and User Experience Study

Abstract

Background Besides anti-inflammatory medication, physical exercise represents a cornerstone of modern treatment for patients with axial spondyloarthritis (AS). Digital health apps (DHAs) such as the yoga app YogiTherapy could remotely empower patients to autonomously and correctly perform exercises. Objective This study aimed to design and develop a smartphone-based app, YogiTherapy, for patients with AS. To gain additional insights into the usability of the graphical user interface (GUI) for further development of the app, this study focused exclusively on evaluating users’ interaction with the GUI. Methods The development of the app and the user experience study took place between October 2020 and March 2021. The DHA was designed by engineering students, rheumatologists, and patients with AS. After the initial development process, a pilot version of the app was evaluated by 5 patients and 5 rheumatologists. The participants had to interact with the app’s GUI and complete 5 navigation tasks within the app. Subsequently, the completion rate and experience questionnaire (attractiveness, perspicuity, efficiency, dependability, stimulation, and novelty) were completed by the patients. Results The results of the posttest questionnaires showed that most patients were already familiar with digital apps (4/5, 80%). The task completion rates of the usability test were 100% (5/5) for the tasks T1 and T2, which included selecting and starting a yoga lesson and navigating to an information page. Rheumatologists indicated that they were even more experienced with digital devices (2/5, 40% experts; 3/5, 60% intermediates). In this case, they scored task completion rates of 100% (5/5) for all 5 usability tasks T1 to T5. The mean results from the User Experience Questionnaire range from −3 (most negative) to +3 (most positive). According to rheumatologists’ evaluations, attractiveness (mean 2.267, SD 0.401) and stimulation (mean 2.250, SD 0.354) achieved the best mean results compared with dependability (mean 2.000, SD 0.395). Patients rated attractiveness at a mean of 2.167 (SD 0.565) and stimulation at a mean of 1.950 (SD 0.873). The lowest mean score was reported for perspicuity (mean 1.250, SD 1.425). Conclusions The newly developed and tested DHA YogiTherapy demonstrated moderate usability among rheumatologists and patients with rheumatic diseases. The app can be used by patients with AS as a complementary treatment. The initial evaluation of the GUI identified significant usability problems that need to be addressed before the start of a clinical evaluation. Prospective trials are also needed in the second step to prove the clinical benefits of the app.

The exercise-app Axia for axial spondyloarthritis enhances the home-based exercise frequency in axial spondyloarthritis patients – A cross-sectional survey

“…Furthermore, the license holders of Rheuma-Auszeit (Rheuma-Liga) are not considering to further develop Rheuma-Auszeit into a medical device or even a reimbursed DHA at the moment (according to the information on their homepage [ 30 ]). YogiTherapy was developed by the University of Erlangen and offers a Yoga-based training specific for axSpA patients [ 14 , 28 ]. According to the publication of their user tests, the developers initially planned to develop YogiTherapy as a medical device [ 14 , 28 ].…”

“…YogiTherapy was developed by the University of Erlangen and offers a Yoga-based training specific for axSpA patients [ 14 , 28 ]. According to the publication of their user tests, the developers initially planned to develop YogiTherapy as a medical device [ 14 , 28 ]. So far, YogiTherapy has not yet been certified as a medical device to the best of our knowledge and is now offered as free ware in app stores (as of April 2024).…”

“…So far, YogiTherapy has not yet been certified as a medical device to the best of our knowledge and is now offered as free ware in app stores (as of April 2024). YogiTherapy showed good results in their first user tests regarding attractiveness and stimulation, but these results should be interpreted in the knowledge of the low number of participating patients in their first ( n = 5) and second survey ( n = 16) [ 14 , 28 ]. Furthermore, YogiTherapy mainly offers a Yoga-based exercise form [ 14 , 28 ].…”

“…YogiTherapy showed good results in their first user tests regarding attractiveness and stimulation, but these results should be interpreted in the knowledge of the low number of participating patients in their first ( n = 5) and second survey ( n = 16) [ 14 , 28 ]. Furthermore, YogiTherapy mainly offers a Yoga-based exercise form [ 14 , 28 ]. In conclusion, there is currently no DTx on the German-speaking market similar to Axia which is both a medical device and offers a universal axSpA-specific exercise program.…”

A Mobile Self-Management App (CanSelfMan) for Children With Cancer and Their Caregivers: Usability and Compatibility Study

“…Each item is a pair of opposites with a 7-point Likert scale, which is the form of a semantic differential. [ 27 ]. Multimedia Appendix 1 shows the UEQ items.…”