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
. 2024 Oct 7;3(10):e0000626.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000626. eCollection 2024 Oct.

Patient experience and barriers of using a mHealth exercise app in musculoskeletal (MSK) Physiotherapy

Jack Grodon  1   2 , Christopher Tack  3 , Laura Eccott  1 , Mindy C Cairns  1
Affiliations

Patient experience and barriers of using a mHealth exercise app in musculoskeletal (MSK) Physiotherapy

Jack Grodon et al. PLOS Digit Health. .

Abstract

Digital transformation has led to an abundance of digital health technologies (DHTs) readily available for Physiotherapists. In July 2020, the Physiotherapy department at a London NHS Trust implemented a mobile health (mHealth) exercise application (app), Physitrack. This service evaluation aims to evaluate patient experience and identify any barriers to using Physitrack/PhysiApp in musculoskeletal (MSK) Physiotherapy. An online experience survey was sent to 10,287 MSK Physiotherapy patients who had appointments between January 17th and April 9th 2022.The survey received 1,447 responses (response rate: 14.07%), with 954 (65.93%) respondents previously provided PhysiApp as part of their Physiotherapy management. Most participants used PhysiApp (83.06%), found it easy to use (82.20%) and had positive perceptions on how it added value to their Physiotherapy treatment through its functionality. However, negative impacts on patient-centred care and practical exercise demonstration were apparent in the qualitative results. Key barriers to use included suboptimal explanation, digital exclusion, registration/ login issues and opinion that PhysiApp was superfluous to Physiotherapy treatment. These differed to the main barriers of why participants stopped using/ used PhysiApp less: if they were confident exercising without it, their condition improved/ resolved, loss of motivation, their exercise programme ended or if they found their exercise programme was unsuitable. Despite multiple interdependent factors influencing patient experience and barriers of using PhysiApp, the survey results revealed the significant influence that is exerted by MSK Physiotherapists. The patient-physiotherapist interaction can positively or negatively impact upon many barriers of use and the subsequent potential added value of PhysiApp to MSK Physiotherapy treatment. Future research should focus on those at most risk of digital exclusion and health inequalities, exploring their barriers to using mHealth apps and other DHTs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Qualitative themes and subthemes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Essery R, Geraghty AWA, Kirby S, Yardley L. Predictors of adherence to home-based physical therapies: a systematic review. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2017;39(6). doi: 10.3109/09638288.2016.1153160 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alexandre NM, Nordin M, Hiebert R, Campello M. Predictors of compliance with shortterm treatment among patients with back pain. Revista panamericana de salud pública. 2002. Aug;12(2):86–95. doi: 10.1590/s1020-49892002000800003 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Van Gool CH, Penninx BW, Kempen GI, Rejeski WJ, Miller GD, Van Eijk JT, Pahor M, Messier SP. Effects of exercise adherence on physical function among overweight older adults with knee osteoarthritis. Arthritis care & research. 2005. Feb 15;53(1):24–32. doi: 10.1002/art.20902 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Department of Health & Social Care. A plan for digital health and social care. 2022. [cited 2024 February 10]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-plan-for-digital-health-and...
    1. Lambert TE, Harvey LA, Avdalis C, Chen LW, Jeyalingam S, Pratt CA, et al.. An app with remote support achieves better adherence to home exercise programs than paper handouts in people with musculoskeletal conditions: a randomised trial. Journal of Physiotherapy. 2017;63(3):161–7. doi: 10.1016/j.jphys.2017.05.015 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources