Background: The Turkish translation of the Dutch Talking Touch Screen Questionnaire (TTSQ) has been developed to help physical therapy patients with a Turkish background in the Netherlands to autonomously elucidate their health problems and impairments and set treatment goals, regardless of their level of health literacy. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the usability of the Turkish TTSQ for physical therapy patients with a Turkish background with diverse levels of health literacy and experience in using mobile technology. Methods: The qualitative Three-Step Test-Interview method was carried out to gain insight into the usability of the Turkish TTSQ. A total of 10 physical therapy patients participated. The interview data were analyzed using a thematic content analysis approach aimed at determining the accuracy and completeness with which participants completed the questionnaire (effectiveness), the time it took participants to complete the questionnaire (efficiency), and the extent to which the participants were satisfied with the ease of use of the questionnaire (satisfaction). The problems encountered by the participants in this study were given a severity rating, which was used to provide a rough estimate of the need for additional usability improvements. Results: No participant in this study was able to complete the questionnaire without encountering at least one usability problem. A total of 17 different kinds of problems were found. On the basis of their severity score, 3 problems that should be addressed during future development of the tool were “Not using the navigation function of the photo gallery in Question 4 causing the participant to not see all presented response items;” “Touching the text underneath a photo in Question 4 to select an activity instead of touching the photo itself, causing the activity not to be selected;” and “Pushing too hard or tapping too softly on the touch screen causing the touch screen to not respond.” The data on efficiency within this study were not valid and are, therefore, not reported in this study. No participant was completely satisfied or dissatisfied with the overall ease of use of the Turkish TTSQ. Two participants with no prior experience of using tablet computers felt that, regardless of what kinds of improvement might be made, it would just be too difficult for them to learn to work with the device. Conclusions: As with the Dutch TTSQ, the Turkish TTSQ needs improvement before it can be released. The results of this study confirm the conclusion of the Dutch TTSQ study that participants with low levels of education and little experience in using mobile technology are less able to operate the TTSQ effectively. Using a Dutch speaking interviewer and Turkish interpreter has had a negative effect on data collection in this study.
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Background: Home-based exercise is an important part of physical therapy treatment for patients with low back pain. However, treatment effectiveness depends heavily on patient adherence to home-based exercise recommendations. Smartphone apps designed to support home-based exercise have the potential to support adherence to exercise recommendations and possibly improve treatment effects. A better understanding of patient perspectives regarding the use of smartphone apps to support home-based exercise during physical therapy treatment can assist physical therapists with optimal use and implementation of these apps in clinical practice. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate patient perspectives on the acceptability, satisfaction, and performance of a smartphone app to support home-based exercise following recommendations from a physical therapist. Methods: Using an interpretivist phenomenology approach, 9 patients (4 males and 5 females; aged 20-71 years) with nonspecific low back pain recruited from 2 primary care physical therapy practices were interviewed within 2 weeks after treatment ended. An interview guide was used for the interviews to ensure that different aspects of the patients’ perspectives were discussed. The Physitrack smartphone app was used to support home-based exercise as part of treatment for all patients. Data were analyzed using the “Framework Method” to assist with interpretation of the data. Results: Data analysis revealed 11 categories distributed among the 3 themes “acceptability,” “satisfaction,” and “performance.” Patients were willing to accept the app as part of treatment when it was easy to use, when it benefited the patient, and when the physical therapist instructed the patient in its use. Satisfaction with the app was determined by users’ perceived support from the app when exercising at home and the perceived increase in adherence. The video and text instructions, reminder functions, and self-monitor functions were considered the most important aspects for performance during treatment. The patients did not view the Physitrack app as a replacement for the physical therapist and relied on their therapist for instructions and support when needed. Conclusions: Patients who use an app to support home-based exercise as part of treatment are accepting of the app when it is easy to use, when it benefits the patient, and when the therapist instructs the patient in its use. Physical therapists using an app to support home-based exercise can use the findings from this study to effectively support their patients when exercising at home during treatment.
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Background: Home-based exercise is an important part of physical therapy treatment for patients with low back pain. However, treatment effectiveness depends heavily on patient adherence to home-based exercise recommendations. Smartphone apps designed to support home-based exercise have the potential to support adherence to exercise recommendations and possibly improve treatment effects. A better understanding of patient perspectives regarding the use of smartphone apps to support home-based exercise during physical therapy treatment can assist physical therapists with optimal use and implementation of these apps in clinical practice. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate patient perspectives on the acceptability, satisfaction, and performance of a smartphone app to support home-based exercise following recommendations from a physical therapist. Methods: Using an interpretivist phenomenology approach, 9 patients (4 males and 5 females; aged 20-71 years) with nonspecific low back pain recruited from 2 primary care physical therapy practices were interviewed within 2 weeks after treatment ended. An interview guide was used for the interviews to ensure that different aspects of the patients' perspectives were discussed. The Physitrack smartphone app was used to support home-based exercise as part of treatment for all patients. Data were analyzed using the "Framework Method" to assist with interpretation of the data. Results: Data analysis revealed 11 categories distributed among the 3 themes "acceptability," "satisfaction," and "performance." Patients were willing to accept the app as part of treatment when it was easy to use, when it benefited the patient, and when the physical therapist instructed the patient in its use. Satisfaction with the app was determined by users' perceived support from the app when exercising at home and the perceived increase in adherence. The video and text instructions, reminder functions, and self-monitor functions were considered the most important aspects for performance during treatment. The patients did not view the Physitrack app as a replacement for the physical therapist and relied on their therapist for instructions and support when needed. Conclusions: Patients who use an app to support home-based exercise as part of treatment are accepting of the app when it is easy to use, when it benefits the patient, and when the therapist instructs the patient in its use. Physical therapists using an app to support home-based exercise can use the findings from this study to effectively support their patients when exercising at home during treatment.
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