LifeMap Solutions, the company behind the ResearchKit-based Asthma Health app, reports seeing high rates of consent and participation for the app, due to iPhone app “stickiness.”
The app was developed in cooperation with Mount Sinai and allows asthma sufferers to self-manage their disease by gathering data on potential triggers, and helping patients avoid areas with bad air quality.
The company, in making the first third-party post to Apple’s ResearchKit blog, says they found participants to be just as engaged with the Asthma Health app as users are with games or social networks.
While LifeMap was initially concerned that the switch from paper consent forms to e-consent forms would slow study engagement, preliminary data shows users not only follow through with the consent process, but also start using the Asthma Health app the next day.
LifeMap also found that participants respond well to encouraging reminders that are pushed out to participants every Monday. LifeMap’s results so far suggest ResearchKit can be an effective research tool when applied properly.
ResearchKit – an open source software framework designed for medical and health research, designed to help doctors and scientists gather data more frequently and more accurately from participants using iPhone apps – was first introduced in March 2015.
(Via AppleInsider)
