Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jun 24;9(7):e17572.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17572. eCollection 2023 Jul.

Usability study of a smartphone app entitled: Living with Parkinson's disease

Naira Rúbia Rodrigues Pereira  1 , Letícia Corrêa Celeste  1 , André Barros de Sales  2 , Fabiana Freitas Mendes  2 , Cristina Lemos Barbosa Furia  1
Affiliations

Usability study of a smartphone app entitled: Living with Parkinson's disease

Naira Rúbia Rodrigues Pereira et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Background: Mobile healthcare apps have transformed the healthcare industry and these apps can now be used for educational and preventive purposes, as well as providing valuable information for self-care. Apps related to Parkinson's disease can help from diagnoses to treatment, however the purpose of the app in this study is to inform and to educate.

Objective: To describe user appraisal of the refinement of a Parkinson's Disease app through a technical evaluation by researchers in the technological area of Human-computer Interaction HCI and usability from the perspective of the end user.

Methods: Technological development research of heuristic evaluation and user experience study carried out for usability testing, where the profile of users were surveyed and usability was evaluated by HCI researchers and end users.

Results: Parkinsonians with a recent diagnosis showed the greatest interest in the app. The final version of the app was ready after modifications proposed by experts and users. The app achieved an excellent usability rating, when rated on the Brooke scale in regard to user evaluation.

Conclusion: Structured strategies to promote greater adherence contribute to increased usability, and may allow for greater autonomy in care and early identification of symptoms.

Keywords: Application; Human-computer interaction; Mobile health; Parkinson's disease; Usability.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

References

    1. Simon D.K., Tanner C.M., Brundin P. Parkinson disease epidemiology, pathology, genetics, and pathophysiology. Clin. Geriatr. Med. 2020;36(1):1–12. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fearon C., Fasano A. Parkinson's disease and the COVID-19 pandemic. J. Parkinsons Dis. 2021;11(2):431–444. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Toolaroud P.B., Nabovati E., Mobayen M., Akbari H., Feizkhah R.F., Jeddi F.R. Design and usability evaluation of a mobile‐based‐self‐management application for caregivers of children with severe burns. Int. Wound J. 2023:1–11. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hearn J., Wali S., Birungi P., Cafazzo J.A., Ssinabulya I., Akiteng A.R., Ross H.J., Seto E., Schwartz J.I. A digital self-care intervention for Ugandan patients with heart failure and their clinicians: user-centred design and usability study. Digit. Health. 2022;8:1–12. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang S.W., Chiou C.C., Su C.H., Wu C.C., Tsai S.C., Lin T.K., Hsu C.N. Measuring mobile phone application usability for anticoagulation from the perspective of patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. Int. J. Environ. Res. Publ. Health. 2022;19(16):1–13. - PMC - PubMed