Assessing the validity, reliability and usability of a newly developed smartphone based application in measuring chronic low back pain

Abstract

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is considered to be one of the biggest problems for public health systems in the western world. Physiotherapists rely on self- reporting from the patient to obtain the necessary information which is then transcribed into paper format. Though paper- based tools are valid, they present limitations as patients have to retrospectively remember their pain episodes. This can make the recorded information inaccurate. Mobile phone applications can help to avoid such problems. However studies on such technologies showed an apparent lack of user, clinician, or health service engagement in their development and minimal research on their effectiveness. The aim of the study was to investigate whether a newly developed application could be valid, reliable and usable. CLBP patients that were being treated by a physiotherapist at a musculoskeletal outpatient department were chosen as the study population. An application, called “Pain in the App”, was developed for this study. This application was transferred onto the participants’ smartphone for the 30 day collection period. Following data collection, a modified questionnaire was distributed to the participants. Statistical analysis showed that the application is valid when compared to the numerical rating scale (NRS) (p- value <0.001). Results also suggest that the application is capable of recording data in a reliable and consistent manner (p- value <0.001) and that the usability, the design elements adopted and the quality of clinical content were likened by the participants (pvalue 0.729). The results obtained show a great potential of smartphone applications in healthcare and a satisfactory proof- of- concept.