Survey of women with pelvic floor disorders: Could a smartphone application be helpful for patient care?

Jamal, A.; Walter, J. E.; Merovitz, L.; Khayat, S.; Larouche, M.

Objectives: To evaluate technology use, eHealth literacy and feature preferences for a smartphone application with patient portal among women with pelvic floor disorders (PFD). Methods: A survey was developed by the authors including demographics, and eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS;scored out of 40, higher score reflecting higher eHealth literacy). Women with PFDs attending one of 3 urogynecology clinics were recruited (July-September 2020). Due to COVID-19 restrictions, participants completed the survey online (via SimpleSurvey) or by phone. 99 women were successfully contacted. 45 declined to participate or did not complete the survey (13 reported no access to email or smartphone) and 54 completed the survey (54.5%). Statistics are descriptive. Results: 41 (75.9%) were aged 30-69, and 52 (96.3%) had a high school diploma or higher. 51 (94.4%) owned a smartphone deviceand 42 (77.8%) ever used a smartphone application. Mean eHEALS score was 28.1 +/- 6.2. Most reported knowing how/where to find useful health information online. Only 29 (53.7%) were comfortable assessing quality of online resources, and 18 (33.3%) felt confident using online information to make health decisions. 45 (83.3%) felt that a smartphone application could positively impact satisfaction, communication and coordination of PFD care. Most valued application features included PFD information resources (94.4%), decision aids (92.6%), and communication with healthcare team (90.7%). Conclusions: Many women with PFD would value a smartphone application to support shared decision-making. Users should be involved in the feature selection process. Barriers to use of this technology among women with PFDs should be further explored.