Feasibility of a Mobile Application to Support Reflection and Dialog About Strengths in People With Chronic Illness

Capitalizing on the Strengths of Persons With Rheumatoid Arthritis to Improve Health and Wellness

Self-management of chronic illness can be highly demanding and people need to mobilize their personal strengths in order to live well with their condition. A mobile application was designed in collaboration with people with chronic illness and health care providers with the aims to support awareness of patients' strengths and patient-provider dialogues that include strengths. The aim of the present study is to evaluate with mixed methods the perceived usefulness and usability of the application and potential effects of the application on patients.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Rheumatic Diseases; Chronic Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Mobile application

Detailed Description

In this pre-post design pilot study participants will be recruited from self-management courses for people with rheumatic diseases. Before using the application participants will be asked to report their strengths in a written format. After using the mobile application to reflect on their strengths the participants will be interviewed about their experience of using the application and on the task of reflecting on their strengths. They will also be asked to fill out a questionnaire on perceived usefulness and user-friendliness. Before and after using the application the participants fill out questionnaires on emotions (Positive and Negative Affective Scale) and self-efficacy (The Arthritis Self-efficacy Scale). All interviews will be audio-taped and analyzed with a qualitative approach. Descriptive analysis will be applied for quantitative data.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 12
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Norway
  • Oslo, Norway, 0370
    • Diakonhjemmet Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 100 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Setting 1:

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age of 18 years or older
• Can read and speak Norwegian language
• Diagnosed with a chronic condition
• Participating or having recently participated in a learning and mastery or an outpatient rehabilitation program

No exclusion criteria

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Device Feasibility
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Mobile application; Participants recruited from a self-management course are asked to use (single time) a mobile application to support reflection of personal strengths. The participant borrows an Ipad and uses the application to 1) reflect and identify their strengths by reviewing a list of examples, 2) define personal goals, and 3) link strengths to goals.	Device: Mobile application; Use of a mobile application (on a borrowed device) with following features: 1) strengths reflection and identification, 2) summary of registered strengths, 3) defining goals, and 4) linking strengths to goals.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Perceived Usefulness of the Application	Study-specific questions on perceived usefulness of the application	Within an hour after using the application
The System Usability Scale	This 10 item questionnaire measures usability. Each item has 5 response options with total score ranging from 0 to 100. Higher values represent a better outcome.	Within an hour after using the application

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule.	This scale measures positive and negative affect with two subscales (positive affect and negative affect). Positive affect subscale scores can range from 10-50, with higher scores representing higher levels of positive affect. Negative affect subscale scores can range from 10-50, with lower scores representing lower levels of negative affect.	Pre-intervention and post-intervention, within an hour after using the application
The Arthritis Self-efficacy Scale	This scale measures self-efficacy with two subscales with 5 response options. The "pain" subscale has 5 items and a score range from 0 to 20. The "other symptoms" subscale has 6 items and a score range from 0 to 24. Higher scores equal higher levels of self-efficacy.	Pre-intervention and post-intervention, within an hour after using the application

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Oslo University Hospital
• Collaborators: Diakonhjemmet Hospital; South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Olöf B Kristjansdottir, PhD, Oslo University Hospital, Center for Shared Decision Making and Collaborative Care Research

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 18, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 20, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): September 20, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 13, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 13, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): February 19, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 16, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 15, 2021
• Last Verified: November 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Feasibility; self-management; mHealth; health assets; Strengths
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Disease Attributes; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Connective Tissue Diseases; Chronic Disease; Rheumatic Diseases; Collagen Diseases
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2015065

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No