The Healing Hearts at Home© Mobile Application Usability and Influence on Parental Perceived Stress: A Pilot Study

Abstract

In this study, the Healing Hearts and Home© (HHH©) application was piloted to determine the usability and usefulness of the mobile application and whether the application had an effect on caregivers' coping and stress. A posttest consisting of the Systems Usability Scale (SUS), the Coping Health Inventory for Parents (CHIP), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to collect information on the application usability, coping patterns, and perceived stress. Key informants provided more insight into usefulness. The SUS rating was 86.94 (SD = 6.34). The excellent usability score did not translate into uptake, though interest remained. The PSS scores for the control group 17.11 (SD = 1.69) and the intervention group were 19.11 (SD = 6.51) were not statistically different. None of the CHIP subscales predicted the PSS score. The HHH© application shows potential to reduce stress and improve coping in caregivers in the absence of available in-person intervention.