A comprehensive tool for evaluating patient satisfaction in mhealth: Development and validation of the digital health application satisfaction scale

Aim

Digital health applications have emerged as vital tools in healthcare delivery, particularly for older cancer patients. However, there is a lack of validated tools to assess user satisfaction with these platforms. This study aimed to develop and validate the Digital Health Application Satisfaction Scale for Patients (DHASSP) to evaluate patient satisfaction across key domains such as ease of use, quality of life impact, and emotional engagement.

Methods

This mixed-methods study included expert consultations, item development, content validation using 28 experts, and pilot testing with 40 oncology patients. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability tests were performed to evaluate the scale’s psychometric properties.

Results

The DHASSP exhibited strong content validity (S-CVI/Ave = 0.857) and excellent reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.907). EFA revealed a four-factor structure, accounting for 67.35 % of the variance. The Quality-of-Life domain demonstrated the highest reliability (α = 0.795), while technical aspects scored lower (α = 0.551).

Conclusions

The DHASSP provides a comprehensive framework for evaluating satisfaction with digital health platforms, addressing usability, emotional engagement, and impact on quality of life. Its validation contributes to advancing the use of ICT in clinical care, particularly in oncology settings.