ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There remains a need to engage at-risk primary care populations in cancer prevention behaviors, yet primary care physicians often lack the time or resources to discuss these behaviors with their patients. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the content, usability, and acceptability of a mobile app that leverages insights from goal-setting and social network literature to facilitate cancer prevention goal setting, tracking, and sharing between non-Hispanic Black primary care patients and their social ties. METHODS: We recruited eligible non-Hispanic Black primary care patients (aged ≥18 years) from 2 practice sites in West Philadelphia, using nonprobabilistic purposive sampling. We conducted semistructured interviews with 5 to 7 participants over 3 weeks to solicit feedback on paper mock-ups of the app, iteratively adapting these mock-ups after each set of interviews. Thereafter, and informed by initial feedback, we created an electronic beta version of the app and sought acceptability and usability feedback from a different set of participants. Then, we conducted content analysis of all user responses to search for unifying themes on acceptability and usability of both the initial mock-ups and beta version of the app. We further assessed app usability using questions derived from the System Usability Scale. RESULTS: A total of 33 non-Hispanic Black primary care patients participated in this study. The mean age was 49 (SD 13) years, and 26 (79%) out of 33 participants identified as female. Semistructured interviews revealed three primary generalizable insights from our target population: the framing of each goal and its relevance to cancer impacted the likelihood that the goal would be chosen, participants thought that sharing health goals with others facilitates health behaviors, and most participants found it motivating to see other users' goal progress, while still collaborating with these users on their health goals. An overarching insight that permeated across each theme was the participants' desire to customize and personalize the app. Usability testing revealed that 100% (33/33) of participants found the app easy to use, and 76% (25/33) of participants reported that they would like to use this app frequently. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer prevention in the modern era must include options that are accessible to all, but this does not mean that all options must be universal. This study's iterative process led to the development of a cancer prevention mobile app that non-Hispanic Black primary care patients deemed usable and acceptable and yielded noteworthy insights about what intended end users value in setting and accomplishing health goals.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Many newly diagnosed cancers are associated with modifiable lifestyle behaviors, such as diet, exercise, smoking cessation, and maintaining a healthy weight. However, primary care providers rarely discuss cancer prevention behaviors with their patients. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the usability, acceptability, and user engagement of the Healthier Together mobile app, which is designed to promote cancer prevention behaviors among non-Hispanic Black primary care patients, by using social networks and goal-setting theories of behavior change. METHODS: In an 8-week pilot study, we enrolled primary care patients (N=41) and provided them with a cancer prevention mobile app that allowed them to select, track, and share progress on cancer prevention goals with other users. App usability was assessed using the System Usability Scale. We assessed the app's acceptability by qualitatively analyzing open-ended responses regarding participants' overall experience with the app. We assessed participants' engagement by analyzing the built-in data capture device, which included the number of times participants checked in (out of a maximum of 8) during the study. RESULTS: The mean age of the 41 participants was 51 years (SD 12), and 76% (31/41) were women. App use data were captured from all participants, and 83% (34/41) completed the exit survey and interview. The mean System Usability Scale score was 87 (SD 12; median 90; IQR 78-95). The analysis of open-ended responses revealed several key themes, and participants complemented the app's ease of use and health behavior-promoting features while also commenting on the need for more feedback and social interactions through the app. On average, participants checked in 5.7 times (SD 2.7) out of 8 possible opportunities. Of the 41 participants, 76% (31/41) checked in during at least 4 of the 8 weeks. Secondary analyses revealed that participants often accomplished their set goals (mean 5.1, SD 2.7) for each week. The qualitative analysis of comments given by participants within the app after each weekly check-in revealed several themes on how the app assisted participants in behavioral change, highlighting that some participants created exercise programs, ate healthier foods, lost a significant amount of weight, and stopped smoking during this study. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a mobile cancer prevention goal-setting app in a primary care setting was feasible, and the app achieved high usability, acceptability, and engagement among participants. User feedback revealed an influence on health behaviors. These findings suggest the promise of the Healthier Together app in facilitating behavioral change to reduce cancer risk among non-Hispanic Black primary care patients.
