Usability of a Mobile Point-of-Care App for the Index of Severity for Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Background and Aims

A new application (app) allows the Index of Severity for EoE (I-SEE) to be used at the point of care. We aimed to perform usability testing of the I-SEE mobile app and identify areas for improvement.

Methods

We recruited 60 practitioners (20 adult and 20 pediatric gastroenterologists; 20 allergists) to use I-SEE on ≥5 EoE patients seen in clinic and undergo interviews by trained qualitative researchers. The interview guide focused on overall user experience, user satisfaction, and desired improvements. It also explored potential perceived barriers to using the app and I-SEE.

Results

Though I-SEE was new to most providers, they found it took only a few minutes to calculate the score. All interviewees either “agreed” (5%) or “strongly agreed” (95%) with the statement, “The app was easy to navigate,” and almost all (95%) either “agreed” (42%) or “strongly agreed” (53%) with “The app’s features and functionalities were intuitive and easy to understand”. The large majority (85%) reported satisfaction with the app. Responses were similar for allergists, and adult and pediatric gastroenterologists. Areas of suggested improvement included updating design features, incorporation into electronic medical records, addressing if scoring for children and adults should be different, and clarifying clinical implications of I-SEE for management.

Conclusion

The I-SEE app was user friendly and able to be completed rapidly in clinical practice. Interviewee feedback led to app updates to improve visualization and use. In the future, scoring for children should be confirmed and I-SEE should be validated by linking severity to treatment and monitoring recommendations.