Developing and evaluating a prototype public health mobile app on the UK NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Programme

Jones, E., Poyade, M. and Varsou, O. (2022) Developing and evaluating a prototype public health mobile app on the UK NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Programme. Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, 45(3), pp. 160-168. (doi: 10.1080/17453054.2022.2037409) (PMID:35227138)

Abstract

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA) are asymptomatic with advanced age and male sex being risk factors. Due to their significant mortality rate, the NHS AAA Screening programme was introduced in 2012. However, this is not as well-supported compared to other programmes. When it comes to AAA and its screening, health information is also available from different sources potentially leading to confusion. Based on this, our aim was to develop a prototype mobile application on AAA and its screening, centralising all key information, for the general public. Another aim was to assess the app’s usability and impact (i.e. users’ perceptions about screening attendance and knowledge of AAA). 24 participants completed a pre-app questionnaire followed by app testing and a post-app questionnaire. Ethical approval was granted from the Glasgow School of Art. 75% of participants had never heard of AAA and 92% had never heard of its screening. After app use, the participants’ AAA knowledge significantly increased (Z = −4.318, p < 0.001). App use and opinion of screening attendance were also statistically associated (X1[1, n = 24] = 6.857, p < 0.05). The app’s usability was rated positively in the USE questionnaire. Research is needed on public health apps regarding their impact on screening uptake and public knowledge.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Jones, Miss Ella and Varsou, Dr Ourania and Poyade, Mr Matthieu
• Authors: Jones, E., Poyade, M., and Varsou, O.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Life Sciences
• Journal Name: Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 1745-3054
• ISSN (Online): 1745-3062
• Published Online: 28 February 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine 45(3): 160-168
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License