Feasibility of a wearable self-management application for patients with COPD at home: a pilot study

• Published in: BMC medical informatics and decision making Vol. 24; no. 1; p. 66
• Main Authors: Wu, Robert, de Lara, Eyal, Liaqat, Daniyal, Liaqat, Salaar, Chen, Jun Lin, Son, Tanya, Gershon, Andrea S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 05.03.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Aged; Analysis; Breathing exercises; Care and treatment; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; COPD; Diagnosis; Digital literacy; Disease control; Disease management; Dyspnea; Education; Effectiveness; Exercise; Feasibility Studies; Feedback; Female; Goal setting; Health aspects; Heart rate; Humans; Intervention; Lung diseases, Obstructive; Male; Oxygen content; Oxygen saturation; Patients; Pilot Projects; Portable computers; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - therapy; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Remote monitoring; Respiratory diseases; Risk factors; Self-care, Health; Self-efficacy; Self-Management; Smartphone; Smartphones; Smartwatch; Smartwatches; Wearable; Wearable computers; Wearable Electronic Devices; Wearable technology; Canada; Self-management; Wearable; Smartphone; Remote monitoring; Smartwatch; COPD
• ISSN: 1472-6947; 1472-6947
• DOI: 10.1186/s12911-024-02461-y

Among people with COPD, smartphone and wearable technology may provide an effective method to improve care at home by supporting, encouraging, and sustaining self-management. The current study was conducted to determine if patients with COPD will use a dedicated smartphone and smartwatch app to help manage their COPD and to determine the effects on their self-management. We developed a COPD self-management application for smartphones and smartwatches. Participants were provided with the app on a smartphone and a smartwatch, as well as a cellular data plan and followed for 6 months. We measured usage of the different smartphone app functions. For the primary outcome, we examined the change in self-management from baseline to the end of follow up. Secondary outcomes include changes in self-efficacy, quality of life, and COPD disease control. Thirty-four patients were enrolled and followed. Mean age was 69.8 years, and half of the participants were women. The most used functions were recording steps through the smartwatch, entering a daily symptom questionnaire, checking oxygen saturation, and performing breathing exercises. There was no significant difference in the primary outcome of change in self-management after use of the app or in overall total scores of health-related quality of life, disease control or self-efficacy. We found older patients with COPD would engage with a COPD smartphone and smartwatch application, but this did not result in improved self-management. More research is needed to determine if a smartphone and smartwatch application can improve self-management in people with COPD. ClinicalTrials.Gov NCT03857061, First Posted February 27, 2019.