Evaluating the effect and user satisfaction of an adapted and translated mobile health application ASTHMAXcel© among adults with asthma in Pune, India

Abstract

Objective

ASTHMAXcel^© is a mobile application previously shown to improve asthma knowledge, control, and quality of life. In this study, we translated the application to Marathi for pilot testing in Pune, India in order to evaluate its impact on user satisfaction and asthma knowledge among adult asthma patients.

Methods

ASTHMAXcel^© was adapted to Marathi with the help of asthma patients and clinicians from Bharati Hospital. 57 different asthma patients were then recruited and received the Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire (AKQ), Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ), and Mini Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (Mini-AQLQ) to complete at baseline. Study participants then completed the adapted ASTHMAXcel^© application. Post-intervention, participants filled out a post-AKQ and Questionnaire for User Interface Satisfaction (QUIS). A subset of participants was also interviewed for qualitative feedback. Paired t-tests and Pearson’s correlation were used for statistical analysis.

Results

Mean AKQ improved from 5.0+/−2.4 to 12.4+/−1.6 (p = 0.0001). QUIS results revealed that participants were highly satisfied with the application, scoring an average of 50 out of 54 maximum points. Better baseline asthma control was correlated with greater overall experience with the application (–0.110, p = 0.0417). Finally, the qualitative feedback revealed four themes for future refinement.

Conclusion

The adapted version of ASTHMAXcel^© was linked to significant improvement in patient asthma knowledge and a high level of user satisfaction. These results support the potential utility of mHealth applications in promoting guideline-based asthma care in India. However, further studies are needed to establish a causal relationship between ASTHMAXcel^© and improved clinical outcomes.

Keywords:

• Asthma
• asthma knowledge
• eMedicine
• patient education
• mobile health
• mHealth
• technology

Acknowledgements

The study team in India received permission to use the ASTHMAXcel^© mobile application for this study.

Declaration of interest

One of the authors, Sunit P. Jariwala, helped to develop ASTHMAXcel, which is a noncommercial research-based mobile platform. This author was not involved in the conduct of the study and not present at the study sites. The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by The Einstein Global Health Center Pilot Grant.