Design and usability of ParaSportAPP: an mHealth aimed at promoting physical activity in people with spinal cord injury

Abstract

Aim. To design and evaluate the usability of an mHealth aimed at increasing physical activity levels in people with paraplegia who use manual wheelchairs. Method. Firstly, the ParaSportAPP mHealth was designed by a committee of experts in physical exercise and spinal cord injury. Subsequently, once the mHealth was created, ParaSportAPP was installed on the smartphones of 14 wheelchair users with dorsal spinal cord injury. 8 months after the installation of the mHealth, the participants were summoned again and completed the System Usability Scale. Results. An mHealth was created with 79 different physical exercises and with two different ways of transmitting them to the user. In addition, the application is able to record the physical exercises performed in addition to those provided by the application itself and offers a feedback report on the physical exercise performed during the day. The results also showed an average score of 77.5 (18.85) on the System Usability Scale. Conclusions. It has been possible to design and create a functional mHealth with good levels of usability focused on promoting physical activity in people with dorsal spinal cord injury.