A novel mHealth App (RyPros) for prostate cancer management: an accessibility and acceptability study

BACKGROUND: Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in research on the use of mobile health (mHealth) apps as disease management tools. However, very few apps are currently available for prostate cancer (PCa) patient management, and the available apps do not combine the needs of physicians with the requirements of patients. This study aimed to describe the development of a mHealth application for PCa survivors called RyPros, which includes dynamic visualization, intelligent reminders, and instant messaging to support decision-making regarding treatment and follow-up and test the initial accessibility and acceptability application. METHODS: The application was developed through a three-step procedure: logical structure design, application programming, and testing. Dynamic visualization, intelligent reminders, and instant messaging were the core functions of RyPros. Twenty-eight participants who had PCa were enrolled in four weeks of follow-up using the RyPros App. We initially evaluated participants’ acceptance of RyPros based on their use of the app (login data, questionnaire completion) and a satisfaction survey. RESULTS: We successfully designed and tested the application. A total of 32 participants were enrolled, of whom 28 completed the 4-week follow-up, yielding a participation rate of 87.5%. Each participant logged on an average of 2.82 times and achieved an average of 0.89 questionnaires per week over the four weeks. Most participants (64%) liked the app, and most participants (71%) were satisfied, giving the RyPros app a rating of 4 or 5. More than half of the participants (61%) intended to use the RyPros app regularly, and the majority of participants agreed that the three core functionalities of RyPros were helpful (20/28, 71% for instant messaging; 16/28, 57% for visualization; and 18/28, 64% for reminders and assessments). CONCLUSIONS: The mHealth application we developed for PCa survivor management provided dynamic visualization, reminders, assessments, and instant messaging to support decision-making based on multidisciplinary collaboration. PCa survivors showed high acceptance of the RyPros app.