Variations in the Use of mHealth Tools: The VA Mobile Health Study
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Mobile health (mHealth) technologies exhibit promise for offering patients and their caregivers point-of-need tools for health self-management. This research study involved the dissemination of iPads containing a suite of mHealth apps to family caregivers of veterans who receive care from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Administration and have serious physical or mental injuries. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the study was to identify factors and characteristics of veterans and their family caregivers that predict the use of mHealth apps. METHODS: Veteran/family caregiver dyads (N=882) enrolled in VA's Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers program were recruited to participate in an mHealth pilot program. Veterans and caregivers who participated and received an iPad agreed to have their use of the apps monitored and were asked to complete a survey assessing Caregiver Preparedness, Caregiver Traits, and Caregiver Zarit Burden Inventory baseline surveys. RESULTS: Of the 882 dyads, 94.9% (837/882) of caregivers were women and 95.7% (844/882) of veteran recipients were men. Mean caregiver age was 40 (SD 10.2) years and mean veteran age was 39 (SD 9.15) years, and 39.8% (351/882) lived in rural locations. Most (89%, 788/882) of the caregivers were spouses. Overall, the most frequently used app was Summary of Care, followed by RX Refill, then Journal, Care4Caregivers, VA Pain Coach, and last, VA PTSD Coach. App use was significantly predicted by the caregiver being a spouse, increased caregiver computer skills, a rural living location, lower levels of caregiver preparedness, veteran mental health diagnosis (other than posttraumatic stress disorder), and veteran age. CONCLUSIONS: This mHealth Family Caregiver pilot project effectively establishes the VA's first patient-facing mHealth apps that are integrated within the VA data system. Use varied considerably, and apps that were most used were those that assisted them in their caregiving responsibilities.
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Frisbee et al measured the number of unique apps used in a suite of 6 apps for PTSD self-management.
“Frisbee et al measured the number of unique apps used in the suite [39].”
From A Library of Analytic Indicators to Evaluate Effective Engagement with Consumer mHealth Apps for Chronic Conditions: Scoping Review (2019) · cites this paper as [39]
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References 26 · Cited by 25
- Authors
- Frisbee, K. L.
- Affiliations
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs (US)
- Corresponding author
- Frisbee, Kathleen L
- ORCID
- Frisbee, Kathleen L
- Venue
- JMIR mHealth and uHealth
- Publisher
- JMIR Publications Inc.
- Published
- 2016-07-19
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- e89
- ISSN
- 2291-5222 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4971391
- OpenAlex
- W2496749922
- Cited by
- 25
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 5
- FWCI
- 8.07
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- JMIR mhealth and uhealth (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Social Sciences › Demography › Technology Use by Older Adults
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Health, Technology, Consumer Behavior
- Keywords
- mobile health apps, family caregivers, veterans, caregiver preparedness, rural life, pain management, prescription refills, caregiver dyads
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