Trial reportBMC health services research2021
Use and usability of the dr. Bart app and its relation with health care utilisation and clinical outcomes in people with knee and/or hip osteoarthritis.
Trial report in BMC health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of 25 Years of Mobile Health Tools for Pain Management in Patients With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Rehabilitation Applications Based on Behavioral Therapy for People With Knee Osteoarthritis: Systematic Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Pooled it
- The Analytical Framework of Clinical Trials Evaluating Clinical Outcomes of Artificial Intelligence-Based Digital Health Interventions: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of market access & health policy · 2026Review
- Changes in exercise adherence during use of an e-health application in individuals with knee osteoarthritis.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2026Article
- A successful telenursing experience: Development of an education-interaction orthopedic nursing web application.Journal of education and health promotion · 2025Article
- Development of a mobile APP to promote physical activity in individuals with knee osteoarthritis: the "Move for Knee"™ study protocol.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2025Article
- Evidence for telemedicine heterogeneity in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases care: a scoping review.Clinical rheumatology · 2024Article
- Human Factors in AI-Driven Digital Solutions for Increasing Physical Activity: Scoping Review.JMIR human factors · 2024Article
- Quality assessment of mHealth apps: a scoping review.Frontiers in health services · 2024Article
- mHealth for the Self-management of Knee Osteoarthritis: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSelf-management is of paramount importance in the non-surgical treatment of knee/hip osteoarthritis (OA). Modern technologies offer the possibility of 24/7 self-management support. We developed an e-self-management application (dr. Bart app) for people with knee/hip OA. The aim of this study was to document the use and usability of the dr. Bart app and its relation with health care utilisation and clinical outcomes in people with knee/hip OA.
methodsFor this study we used backend data for the first 26 weeks of use by the intervention group (N = 214) of an RCT examining the effectiveness of the dr. Bart app. A central element of the dr. Bart app is that it proposes a selection of 72 preformulated goals for health behaviours based on the 'tiny habits method' (e.g. after lunch I rise 12 times from my chair to train my leg muscles). The usability of the app was measured using the System Usability Scale questionnaire (SUS), on a scale of 0-100. To assess the association between the intensity of use of the app and health care utilisation (i.e., consultations in primary or secondary health care) and clinical outcomes (i.e., self-management behaviour, physical activity, health-related quality of life, illness perceptions, symptoms, pain, activities of daily living) we calculated Spearman rank correlation coefficients.
resultsOf the 214 participants, 171 (80%) logged in at least once with 151 (71%) choosing at least one goal and 114 (53%) completing at least one goal during the 26 weeks. Of those who chose at least one goal, 56 participants (37%) continued to log in for up to 26 weeks, 12 (8%) continued to select new goals from the offered goals and 37 (25%) continued to complete goals. Preformulated goals in the themes of physical activity (e.g., performing an exercise from the exercises library in the app) and nutrition (e.g., 'eat two pieces of fruit today') were found to be most popular with users. The mean usability scores (standard deviation) at the three and six month follow-ups were 65.9 (16.9) and 64.5 (17.5), respectively. The vast majority of associations between the intensity of use of the dr. Bart app and target outcomes were weak at ρ < (-) 0.25.
conclusionsMore than one-third of people with knee/hip OA who started using the app, continued to use it up to 26 weeks, though usability could be improved. Patients appear to have preferences for goals related to physical activity and nutrition, rather than for goals related to vitality and education. We found weak/no associations between the intensity of use of the dr. Bart app and health care utilisation and clinical outcomes.
trial registration(21 September 2017): Dutch Trial Register (Trial Number NTR6693/NL6505 ).
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.