The feasibility and usability of a mobile application for performing home evaluations

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and usability of a family member and a clinician completed home evaluation process using an adapted commercial MagicPlan mobile application (MPMA) and laser distance measurer (LDM). SETTING: An acute inpatient rehabilitation unit and homes in the community. METHODS: MPMA allows users to create floor plans (FPs), which may include virtually inserted pieces of durable medical equipment (DME). The MPMA with an LDM allows users to virtually demonstrate that ordered DME will fit within the measured environments. After training with an online educational module, the family member of someone on the acute inpatient unit (lay participant) went home to measure room dimensions and to create FPs using the MPMA and LDM. After completing the task, lay participants returned the FPs for review by clinicians responsible for ordering DME. RESULTS: Forty-three lay participants and nine clinicians finished the study. Clinicians were satisfied with 75% of the FPs created by the lay participants using version 2 of the educational module. The lay participants and clinicians both thought the MPMA is useful and recommended its use. CONCLUSION: The MPMA with an LDM can be used to virtually complete a home evaluation and to evaluate for the appropriateness of various considered DME. The method of performing home evaluations may lead to more appropriate DME recommendations to improve functional independence for individuals with disabilities. SPONSORSHIP: This work was supported by Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, QOL Sustainable Impact Projects (431146).