EpApp: Development and evaluation of a smartphone/tablet app for adolescents with epilepsy

Marne, Fleur A Le; Butler, Sharlene; Beavis, Erin; Gill, Deepak; Bye, Ann

doi:10.1016/j.jocn.2018.01.065

Cited by 51 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…A quarter of the adolescent cohort previously received hospital‐provided individual or group epilepsy education, 53% received personalised education via our EpApp study, 56% received seizure safety education during normal clinic visits, and 21% while in emergency/as an inpatient. A quarter of adolescent participants were using apps/other technological devices to assist management of epilepsy.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The major findings of the study are that the new adolescent service was well‐received by adolescents and parents, and adolescents felt their knowledge improved; however, medication adherence and transition readiness did not improve, and psychosocial supports require further modelling. The study did reflect the value of previous educational interventions as the patient cohort was reasonably well‐educated at baseline.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Implementing a new adolescent epilepsy service: Improving patient experience and readiness for transition

Marne

Towns

Gaskin

et al. 2018

J Paediatrics Child Health

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Aim To implement and appraise a new model of care in terms of: patient experience, knowledge of epilepsy, readiness for transition and emotional and behavioural support in a new purpose‐built facility for adolescents and young adults. Methods The new model of care included: upskilling of neurology staff in adolescent engagement and provision of group education sessions on epilepsy and mental health (MH), along with MH support, in a new purpose‐built adolescent facility. Parameters examined pre‐ and post‐attendance at the new clinic included: adolescent experience of service delivery, transition readiness, emotional and behavioural well‐being, epilepsy knowledge and medication adherence. Results A total of 45 adolescents (mean age 15.7 years) attended the new epilepsy clinic between February 2017 and December 2017. Adolescents felt significantly better informed following education in relation to epilepsy and driving, alcohol/street drugs and birth control/pregnancy. There was no significant improvement in self‐reported medication adherence, transition readiness or mental well‐being at follow‐up. While MH education was ranked highly in terms of importance by adolescents and parents at baseline, attendance at MH education and engagement with MH support was low. Conclusions This paper documents what is important to young people with epilepsy regarding service delivery. The new adolescent service was well received. Based on feedback from adolescents and parents relating to the service, and the suboptimal uptake of MH supports, the model of care has been revised to reduce attendance burden on families and improve patient experience.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing a new adolescent epilepsy service: Improving patient experience and readiness for transition

Marne

Towns

Gaskin

et al. 2018

J Paediatrics Child Health

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“…Similarly, 94% of Australians aged 16 to 17 years (age when active planning for the event of transfer should occur) owned a smartphone, and 89% of those between 18 and 24 years of age had a smartphone from which 83% of those downloaded an app [15], with numbers expected to continue rising. The multifunctional characteristics of smartphones and tablets allow multiple interventions and goals to be addressed, including knowledge enhancement and independent self-management skills [16]. It is not surprising that mobile and Web-based health technology has been proposed as a way to interact with young people with chronic illness as they enter the vulnerable transition period [8,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile and Web-Based Apps That Support Self-Management and Transition in Young People With Chronic Illness: Systematic Review

Pérez¹,

Medlow²,

Ho³

et al. 2019

J Med Internet Res

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BackgroundMore adolescents with chronic physical illness are living into adulthood, and they require the development of proficient self-management skills to maintain optimal physical health as they transition into adult care services. It is often during this vulnerable transition period that deterioration in illness control is seen as a result of inadequate self-management skills and understanding of their chronic illness. Mobile technology has been proposed as an innovative opportunity to assist in improving the management of chronic conditions as young people transition to adult care services. Over the past 5 years, there has been a significant increase in research into the use of health-related apps.ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the utility and effectiveness of mobile and Web-based health apps that support self-management and transition in young people with chronic physical health illnesses.MethodsWe conducted a comprehensive review of the literature in 5 bibliographic databases, using key search terms, considering only articles published from 2013, as we were extending the data from 2 previous systematic reviews. Abstracts were screened for possible inclusion by 2 reviewers. Data extraction and quality assessment tools were used for the evaluation of included studies.ResultsA total of 1737 records were identified from the combined electronic searches, and 854 records were removed as duplicates. A total of 68 full articles were further assessed for eligibility, and 6 articles met our review criteria: 3 pilot studies, 2 randomized controlled trials, and 1 prospective cohort study. Publication years ranged from 2015 to 2018. The apps reported were targeted at type 1 diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, asthma, beta thalassemia major, and sickle cell disease, with a combined sample size of 336. A total of 4 studies included in this review reported being effective in increasing knowledge of the targeted condition and increasing therapy adherence, including increased medication adherence. A total of 2 manuscripts only mentioned the word transition. Participant’s satisfaction was reported for all studies. Heterogeneity of the studies prevented meta-analysis.ConclusionsThere remain limited data on the effectiveness and use of mobile and Web-based apps, which might facilitate the transition of adolescents with chronic illnesses from pediatric to adult health care services. This systematic review provides an updated overview of available apps for adolescents with chronic illnesses. This systematic review has been unable to provide evidence for effectiveness of this approach, but it does provide insights into future study design, with reference to the development, evaluation, and efficacy of apps tailored for adolescents with chronic illnesses, including the involvement of adolescents in such designs.Trial RegistrationPROSPERO CRD42018104611; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=104611

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“…Digital health technologies for PWE comprise mobile apps and internet-based resources delivering epilepsy self-management content (Pandher and Bhullar, 2014 ; Escoffery et al, 2018 ; Le Marne et al, 2018 ; Page et al, 2018 ). Survey-based studies suggest that PWE and their caregivers are interested in mHealth, but only a small fraction use mobile apps for seizure management (Liu et al, 2015 , 2016 ; Leenen et al, 2016 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) for the Treatment of Epilepsy: Development of Digital Therapeutics Comprising Behavioral and Music-Based Interventions for Neurological Disorders

Afra

Bruggers

Sweney

et al. 2018

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Digital health technologies for people with epilepsy (PWE) include internet-based resources and mobile apps for seizure management. Since non-pharmacological interventions, such as listening to specific Mozart's compositions, cognitive therapy, psychosocial and educational interventions were shown to reduce epileptic seizures, these modalities can be integrated into mobile software and delivered by mobile medical apps as digital therapeutics. Herein, we describe: (1) a survey study among PWE about preferences to use mobile software for seizure control, (2) a rationale for developing digital therapies for epilepsy, (3) creation of proof-of-concept mobile software intended for use as an adjunct digital therapeutic to reduce seizures, and (4) broader applications of digital therapeutics for the treatment of epilepsy and other chronic disorders. A questionnaire was used to survey PWE with respect to preferred features in a mobile app for seizure control. Results from the survey suggested that over 90% of responders would be interested in using a mobile app to manage their seizures, while 75% were interested in listening to specific music that can reduce seizures. To define digital therapeutic for the treatment of epilepsy, we designed and created a proof-of-concept mobile software providing digital content intended to reduce seizures. The rationale for all components of such digital therapeutic is described. The resulting web-based app delivered a combination of epilepsy self-care, behavioral interventions, medication reminders and the antiseizure music, such as the Mozart's sonata K.448. To improve long-term patient engagement, integration of mobile medical app with music and multimedia streaming via smartphones, tablets and computers is also discussed. This work aims toward development and regulatory clearance of software as medical device (SaMD) for seizure control, yielding the adjunct digital therapeutic for epilepsy, and subsequently a drug-device combination product together with specific antiseizure medications. Mobile medical apps, music, therapeutic video games and their combinations with prescription medications present new opportunities to integrate pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for PWE, as well as those living with other chronic disorders, including depression and pain.

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EpApp: Development and evaluation of a smartphone/tablet app for adolescents with epilepsy

Cited by 51 publications

References 12 publications

Implementing a new adolescent epilepsy service: Improving patient experience and readiness for transition

Implementing a new adolescent epilepsy service: Improving patient experience and readiness for transition

Mobile and Web-Based Apps That Support Self-Management and Transition in Young People With Chronic Illness: Systematic Review

Mobile Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) for the Treatment of Epilepsy: Development of Digital Therapeutics Comprising Behavioral and Music-Based Interventions for Neurological Disorders

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