Abstract P117: Design, Deployment, And Usability Of A Mobile System For Cardiovascular Health Monitoring Within The Electronic Framingham Heart Study

Introduction: The electronic Framingham Heart Study (eFHS) is an ongoing study nested within the Framingham Heart Study. eFHS examines associations between health data measured by mobile devices and cardiovascular risk and disease. We aim to describe the eFHS app design and deployment methodology, report the characteristics of the eFHS app users, and describe usability of the app. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that eFHS participants will find the app highly usable. Methods: Participants were eligible if they were part of FHS, had a mobile phone, and were willing to share data with the research center. After consent, they received a smartwatch, digital blood pressure (BP) cuff, and the eFHS smartphone app through which surveys were administered. Three years later, the app was enhanced to include an interactive health dashboard to promote participant engagement and facilitate survey completion. We assessed usability of the new app with the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) (specifically app functionality and aesthetics), and survey completion rates at baseline (measures include socio-demographics, self-reported health and health behaviors, and medical history) and 3 months (physical activity). Results: A total of 196 participants were recruited using the enhanced eFHS app. Of these, 97 (49.5%) completed the MARS. The average age of survey respondents was 53 years, 51.5% were women, 93.8% were white. At least one instrument of the baseline survey was completed by 86% of participants, and 50% completed the 3-month assessment. The mean score on the “overall impression” subscale of the MARS was 4.2 (SD 0.74) on a scale of 1 to 5, with all sub-domains scoring > 4.0. Of those who shared their health data with others, 46% shared their BP data, and 7.7% shared their physical activity data with a healthcare provider. Conclusion: Participants rated the new, enhanced eFHS app positively overall. Mobile app survey completion rates were moderate, suggesting that mHealth-delivered cardiovascular research is feasible.