A mobile application-based home assessment tool for patients undergoing joint replacement surgery: A qualitative feasibility study

Most adults prefer to age in place. However, the majority of homes are not designed to support resident needs, especially for adults undergoing joint replacement surgeries such as total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA). It is of paramount importance to proactively assess and modify the homes of adults undergoing TKA/THA such that they can safely transition home following surgery. Several tools utilize emerging technology like virtual reality, augmented reality, or teleconferencing to assess home environments. These are meant to be used by professionals like occupational therapists. However, the acceptance and uptake of simple technology like mobile applications for assessing homes proactively by residents has not been explored.A qualitative exploratory study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility and potential acceptance of a mobile application for resident-initiated home assessment.Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 patient-care partner dyads before and after THA/TKA to understand the perceived usefulness, likelihood of using a mobile application-based home assessment tool, and perceived barriers and facilitators of using the tool.About 68% of the patient-care partner dyads interviewed for this study perceived benefits of using a mobile application-based tool. All the participants who perceived the tool to be useful showed high likelihood of using it. A comparison of responses between pre-and post-surgery interviews revealed that around 50% of participants showed an increased intention of using an assessment tool after experiencing challenges in their homes post-surgery. Participants provided recommendations for key content, potential features to include in the assessment tool, and preferred formats (e.g., checklists, visuals, and videos).To increase acceptance of a mobile application-based home assessment tool, it is crucial that residents are made aware of the home environment challenges and the importance of an assessment tool to improve their safety and independence. The content, features, formats, and usability suggestions from the participants in this study provide a framework for health mobile application and interface developers to design a home assessment tool.