Asthma Patients' Use of Cell Phone Features and Their Willingness to Use Them for Self-Management

Introduction Mobile health has the potential to improve self-care for people with chronic conditions. There are few previously published studies that have examined asthma patients' use of cell phone features and their willingness to use them for self-care in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, there is no validated instrument in Arabic to test the use of cell phone functions. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the general use of cell phone features by asthma patients and their willingness to use them and to determine the frequency of use of cell phone features by asthma patients. It also aimed to translate and validate an Arabic version of the questionnaire to test the use of cell phone functions by asthma patients. Methods This study was conducted in Saudi Arabia in 2021 using an online questionnaire. The test was translated (changes were made as needed) and validated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. After validation of the instrument, the questionnaire included 34 questions divided into three sections: demographic information, current use of cell phone features, and desire to use cell phone features. Adults with asthma aged 18 years and older who owned a smartphone participated in the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Two hundred and seventy asthma patients completed the questionnaire. The Cronbach's alpha value of the questionnaire was 0.86, indicating its reliability and consistency. Only 39 (14.4%) of the participants use cell phones for asthma care, and 13 (4.8%) have apps for asthma care on their cell phones. However, 74.1% of participants have a desire to use a cell phone for asthma care. The majority of participating asthma patients (67.8%) occasionally used the mobile internet browser to search for asthma information. Surprisingly, most of the participating asthma patients did not show a greater desire to use methods other than the internet browser to obtain asthma information. They did, however, have a strong desire to use the news to obtain information about asthma. Conclusion Because the study shows that asthma patients prefer internet searches followed by the news to obtain information, stakeholders need to pay more attention to the quality, quantity, completeness, and accuracy of health information in these media.