TY  - JOUR
AU  - van Beek, Judith Jantine Willemijn
AU  - van Wegen, Erwin Everardus Henri
AU  - Rietberg, Marc Berend
AU  - Nyffeler, Thomas
AU  - Bohlhalter, Stephan
AU  - Kamm, Christian Philipp
AU  - Nef, Tobias
AU  - Vanbellingen, Tim
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/6/9
TI  - Feasibility of a Home-Based Tablet App for Dexterity Training in Multiple Sclerosis: Usability Study
JO  - JMIR Mhealth Uhealth
SP  - e18204
VL  - 8
IS  - 6
KW  - dexterity
KW  - feasibility
KW  - multiple sclerosis
KW  - rehabilitation
KW  - app
KW  - home-based training
AB  - Background: Persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) often experience dexterous difficulties during the performance of activities of daily living, such as fastening buttons, handling coins, or writing, therefore impacting their health-related quality of life. Mobile health (mHealth) solutions, such as tablet apps, may be used to train impaired dexterous skills. The feasibility of a tablet app–based dexterity home-based intervention in MS (TAD-MS) has not been explored yet in persons with MS. Objective: The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility and usability of home-based dexterity training with a tablet app in both persons with MS and healthy subjects. Methods: A total of 9 persons with MS, aged 35-71 years, with an Expanded Disability Status Scale score between 2 and 7.5, performed the TAD-MS for 4 weeks, five times a week, with each training session lasting approximately 30 minutes. Participants’ impaired dexterity was measured by the Nine-Hole Peg Test. A total of 10 age-matched healthy subjects also tested and rated the usability of the app. Outcome measures were the adherence rate as well as usability measured by the System Usability Scale and a Custom User Engagement Questionnaire (CUEQ). Results: High feasibility of the tablet app–based dexterity training program was shown by a 97% adherence rate to the training protocol (ie, mean 19.4/20 sessions completed, SD 0.8). High system usability scores (ie, mean 85.39%, SD  11.67) and overall high scores given in the CUEQ (ie, mean 8.2/10, SD 1.4) further point to high usability of the app. Neither demographic variables nor dexterity levels affected the use of the app. Conclusions: This pilot study is the first to demonstrate high feasibility and usability of a new tablet app–based dexterity home-based training program among both persons with MS and healthy individuals. Whether this kind of training improves dexterity will need to be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. 
SN  - 2291-5222
UR  - http://mhealth.jmir.org/2020/6/e18204/
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/18204
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32515747
DO  - 10.2196/18204
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/18204
ER  -