TY - JOUR
T1 - User Experiences and Preferences Regarding an App for the Treatment of Urinary Incontinence in Adult Women
T2 - Qualitative Study
AU - Wessels, Nienke J.
AU - Hulshof, Lisa
AU - Loohuis, Anne M.M.
AU - van Gemert-Pijnen, Lisette
AU - Jellema, Petra
AU - van der Worp, Henk
AU - Blanker, Marco H.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a grant from ZonMw, The Dutch Organisation for Health Research and Development (project number 837001508), and subfunded by a grant from the P.W. Boer Foundation. This study won the 2016 Professor Huygen Award for best study proposal in general practice, which resulted in additional funding. The funders had no role in data collection, data analysis, the decision to publish, or the manuscript preparation.
Publisher Copyright:
© Nienke J Wessels, Lisa Hulshof, Anne M M Loohuis, Lisette van Gemert-Pijnen, Petra Jellema, Henk van der Worp, Marco H Blanker.
PY - 2020/6/12
Y1 - 2020/6/12
N2 - BACKGROUND: Although several apps are available to support the treatment of urinary incontinence (UI), little has been reported about the experiences and preferences of their users. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore the experiences and preferences of women using a mobile app for the treatment of UI and to identify potential improvements to the app. We developed this app for three types of UI: stress UI, urgency UI, and mixed UI. METHODS: The participants in this qualitative study were women with self-reported stress UI, urgency UI, or mixed UI who used an app-based treatment to manage their condition for at least six weeks. Following the intervention, semistructured interviews were conducted to explore the participants' experiences and preferences regarding the app. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed separately by two researchers. RESULTS: Data saturation was reached after interviewing 9 women (aged 32-68 years) with stress UI (n=1, 11%), urgency UI (n=3, 33%), or mixed UI (n=5, 56%). Accessibility, awareness, usability, and adherence emerged as the main themes. On the one hand, participants appreciated that the app increased their accessibility to care, preserved their privacy, increased their awareness of therapeutic options, was easy to use and useful, and supported treatment adherence. On the other hand, some participants reported that they wanted more contact with a care provider, and others reported that using the app increased their awareness of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: This qualitative study indicates that women appreciate app-based treatment for UI because it can lower barriers to treatment and increase both awareness and adherence to treatment. However, the app does not offer the ability of face-to-face contact and can lead to a greater focus on symptoms.
AB - BACKGROUND: Although several apps are available to support the treatment of urinary incontinence (UI), little has been reported about the experiences and preferences of their users. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore the experiences and preferences of women using a mobile app for the treatment of UI and to identify potential improvements to the app. We developed this app for three types of UI: stress UI, urgency UI, and mixed UI. METHODS: The participants in this qualitative study were women with self-reported stress UI, urgency UI, or mixed UI who used an app-based treatment to manage their condition for at least six weeks. Following the intervention, semistructured interviews were conducted to explore the participants' experiences and preferences regarding the app. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed separately by two researchers. RESULTS: Data saturation was reached after interviewing 9 women (aged 32-68 years) with stress UI (n=1, 11%), urgency UI (n=3, 33%), or mixed UI (n=5, 56%). Accessibility, awareness, usability, and adherence emerged as the main themes. On the one hand, participants appreciated that the app increased their accessibility to care, preserved their privacy, increased their awareness of therapeutic options, was easy to use and useful, and supported treatment adherence. On the other hand, some participants reported that they wanted more contact with a care provider, and others reported that using the app increased their awareness of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: This qualitative study indicates that women appreciate app-based treatment for UI because it can lower barriers to treatment and increase both awareness and adherence to treatment. However, the app does not offer the ability of face-to-face contact and can lead to a greater focus on symptoms.
KW - ehealth
KW - mobile applications
KW - qualitative research
KW - self-management
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85086524560&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2196/17114
DO - 10.2196/17114
M3 - Article
C2 - 32530431
AN - SCOPUS:85086524560
SN - 2291-5222
VL - 8
SP - e17114
JO - JMIR mHealth and uHealth
JF - JMIR mHealth and uHealth
IS - 6
M1 - e17114
ER -