Usability of a Reminder App that May Help to Reduce Radiotherapy-related Skin Toxicity in Patients With Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Patients irradiated for breast cancer may experience acute skin toxicity. To reduce this risk, a mobile application was created which reminds patients to carry out skin care. Before using this app in patients, a pre-study evaluating its usability in healthy volunteers was required.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

In this prospective study, 30 healthy volunteers from Germany and Denmark were asked to test the app and complete a questionnaire including ten statements ("yes or "no") in three sections.

RESULTS

Satisfaction rates (statements affirmed with "yes") were 66.7% (18/27 participants) and 78.6% (22/28) in the section "download and installation", and 100% (29/29) and 96.7% (29/30) in the section "navigation". In the section "content/functions", the six statements were addressed by 28-30 participants; satisfaction rates were 86.7% to 100% (median 96.5%). Dichotomous responses were supplemented by individual comments.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed that the reminder app needed improvement before tested in patients and demonstrated the importance of a pre-study in healthy volunteers.