Assessing the user experience and usability of the PRECIOUS system: a randomized controlled trial in obese patients

ABSTRACT

Objective

To assess users’ usability, satisfaction, acceptance and effectiveness of the PRECIOUS system to promote behavior change toward healthier lifestyles. Design: Thirty-one adult patients with BMI>30 (M = 44.23, SD = 5.91) were recruited and randomized into three conditions for a longitudinal study (3 months length): 1) Control group (TAU + biofeedback + follow-ups); 2) PRECIOUS only (app + biofeedback + follow-ups); 3) PRECIOUS + MI (app + biofeedback + motivational interviewing follow-ups). Main Outcome Measures: Usability, satisfaction, acceptance and effectiveness of PRECIOUS, and stages of change (S-Weight questionnaire). Results: The system was described as easy to use, flexible, fairly satisfying and good as a preventive health system. Participants rated biofeedback and the Physical Activity module as the most satisfying features. However, participants were unsatisfied with the Diet module. All additional features received acceptable scores in terms of satisfaction. Despite this, the PRECIOUS only group reported that they would probably recommend the system to others because it meets its purposes quite well. Conclusion: PRECIOUS was found a usable and acceptable solution, although improving several features in the Diet module in successive versions of the app would promote sustained use and satisfaction among users, possibly increasing its effectiveness in promoting healthier lifestyles.

Abbreviations: ADA

American Diabetes Association; BG2: BodyGuard2; BMI: Body Mass Index; CBT: Cognitive-behavioral therapy; EMA: Ecological Momentary Assessment; eHealth: Electronic health; mHealth: Mobile health; MI: Motivational interviewing; NCD: Non-communicable diseases; PA: Physical activity; PRECIOUS: PREventive Care Infrastructure based On Ubiquitous Sensing

KEYWORDS:

• Mhealth
• motivational interviewing
• morbid obesity
• usability
• acceptance
• satisfaction
• effectiveness

Authors’ contributions

PLP and CCT were responsible for the study design. KK, JN, PLP, and CCT contributed to the development of the theoretical framework of the app. PLP was responsible for coordination with the relevant hospital departments (Endocrinology and Psychiatry Departments) to recruit the PRECIOUS pilot sample of participants. AC and GPP provided a list of potential participants and supported sample recruitment. TG, KK, and JN were responsible of developing the PRECIOUS app and TG provided technical support throughout the pilot. CCT and JMS were responsible of all the tasks concerning the proper development of the PRECIOUS pilot test (recruitment, assessments, monitoring, follow-up appointments, data entry, etc.). CCT and JMS analysed data and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. CCT, JMS, JN, and KK participated in the following versions of the manuscript and made important contributions to its final version. All authors have read and have approved the final manuscript. The AALTO University acted a Project Coordinator and PI of the PRECIOUS project. The European Commission panel of reviewers acted as monitoring agents of this project.

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge all participants for their contributions to the study.

Consent to publish

Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of their results in combination with the rest of the participants’ results. The consent form is held by the authors in the patients’ clinical notes and is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief.

Declarations

This research was approved by the University Hospital Vall d’Hebron Ethical Committee (approval number PR(AG)2012/2014).

Clinical trials register

Registered at clinicaltrials.gov. Registration date 16/6/2016. Registration number: NCT02818790. Protocol ID PRECIOUS_VHIR_Pilot (611366). Title: PREventive Care Infrastructure Based On Ubiquitous Sensing (PRECIOUS).

Conflicts of interest

All the authors declare that they have no competing financial or personal interests.

Additional information

Funding

The PRECIOUS project (PREventive Care Infrastructure based On Ubiquitous Sensing (PRECIOUS): Grant Agreement Nº611366 is a project supported by the European Commission through the 7th Framework Programme (FP7). PRECIOUS has eight beneficiaries from six countries (FI, UK, ES, AT, FR, BE) and is coordinated by AALTO-Korkeakoulusäätiö (FI)