Acceptance, Barriers, and Future Preferences of Mobile Health Among Patients Receiving Trauma and Orthopedic Surgical Care: Paper-Based Survey in a Prospective Multicenter Study

Abstract

Background Smartphones have become an essential part of everyday life and it is undeniable that apps offer enormous opportunities for dealing with future challenges in public health. Nevertheless, the exact patient requirements for medical apps in the field of orthopedic and trauma surgery are currently unknown. Objective The aim of this study was to define target groups, evaluate patient requirements, and the potential and pitfalls regarding medical apps specific for patients receiving orthopedic and trauma surgical care. Methods A prospective multicenter study was conducted between August 2018 and December 2019 at a German trauma center and 3 trauma surgery/orthopedic practices. A paper-based survey consisting of 15 questions evaluated information regarding smartphone and medical app usage behavior. In addition, suggested app functions were rated using Likert scales. Descriptive statistics and binary log-binomial regression were performed. Results A total of 1055 questionnaires were included in our statistical analysis. Approximately 89.57% (945/1055) of the patients in this study owned a smartphone. Smartphone ownership probability decreased with every decade of life and increased with higher levels of education. Medical information was obtained via mobile web access by 62.65% (661/1055) of the patients; this correlated with smartphone ownership in regard to age and educational level. Only 11.18% (118/1055) of the patients reported previous medical app usage, and 3.50% (37/1055) of the patients received an app recommendation from a physician. More than half (594/1055, 56.30%) of the patients were unwilling to pay for a medical app. The highest rated app functions were information about medication, behavioral guidelines, and medical record archival. An improved treatment experience was reported through the suggested app features by 71.18% (751/1055) of the patients. Conclusions Mobile devices are a widely used source of information for medical content, but only a minority of the population reported previous medical app usage. The main target group for medical apps among patients receiving orthopedic and trauma surgical care tends to be the younger population, which results in a danger of excluding fringe groups, especially the older adults. Education seems to be one of the most important pull factors to use smartphones or a mobile web connection to obtain health information. Medical apps primarily focusing on an optimized patient education and flow of information seem to have the potential to support patients in health issues, at least in their subjective perception. For future target group–oriented app developments, further evidence on the clinical application, feasibility, and acceptance of app usage are necessary in order to avoid patient endangerment and to limit socioeconomic costs.

Orthopedic Telemedicine Outpatient Practice Diagnoses Set during the First COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown—Individual Observation

“…The presented work does not include a broad discussion of the barriers and limitations of telemedicine in orthopedics. On the one hand, the current research was not aimed at analyzing them; on the other hand, in many studies, these issues have already been discussed quite extensively [37,61,62,114,115]. Weaknesses of the presented research result from the individual material may show some bias.…”

“…The telemedicine setting can be difficult for elderly orthopedic patients. However, telemedicine-oriented patient education may well solve the problem [37,61,62]. Studies conducted for virtual consultations for orthopedics usually focus on new solutions and technologies [59,[63][64][65][66][67][68][69], patient and clinician satisfaction [4,24,26,46,49,[70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77], clinical outcome measures [78][79][80][81][82], and cost analysis of traditional versus teleconsultation [82][83][84][85][86][87].…”

Development of Open Backend Structures for Health Care Professionals to Improve Participation in App Developments: Pilot Usability Study of a Medical App

“…Before starting the software development process, patients' and physicians' preferences for medical apps were elicited [17,18]. In consideration of the survey results, a digital follow-up treatment plan for ankle joint sprains was created.…”

“…Apps focusing on the flow of information to optimize patient education might help to support patients in their health issues. However, only few medical professionals (MPs) and patients reported previous medical app usage [17]. Satisfactory and affordable app merchandizing seems lacking [18].…”

The Use of Mobile Applications for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Tumors in Orthopaedic Oncology – a Systematic Review

“…In recent years, more and more medical mobile applications were developed [ 3 ]. The largest share of mobile applications currently available are so-called “health apps” or “lifestyle apps” such as mobile applications to help users lose weight or monitor the daily exercise [ 4 ].…”