Rheumatology (Oxford). 2025 Oct 30:keaf565. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaf565. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate MyRA, a web-based self-monitoring application for rheumatoid arthritis, on patient empowerment, usability, and perceived usefulness.
METHODS: MyRA was co-developed with patients and used at their own discretion during a 4-month prospective study with patient questionnaires at T0 (baseline), T1 (2 months) and T2 (4 months). The primary outcome was patient empowerment (Patient Activation Measure-13; 0-100). Secondary outcomes included frequency of use, usability (System Usability Scale; 0-100) and perceived usefulness (study specific questions). Descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVA were applied with post-hoc subgroup analysis based on frequency of use (subgroup A: 1-7 times; subgroup B: ≥8 times).
RESULTS: Among 548 registered patients (90.1% female, mean age 51.8 (SD 11.9) years, mean disease duration 10.2 (SD 10.1) years), 54 patients never used the application (9.9%), 405 patients were infrequent users (73.9%), and 89 patients were frequent users (16.2%). In the total user group, no statistical difference was found for patient empowerment after 4 months (T0: 55.8, T2: 54.4, p= 0.09). However, subgroup B showed a statistically significant, though not clinically meaningful, decrease (T0: 56.2, T2 53.6, p= 0.04). Subgroup B reported higher usability scores compared with subgroup A (75.9 vs 62.9, p< 0.001) and was more outspoken in perceived usefulness.
CONCLUSION: Despite major patient involvement throughout development, self-monitoring via MyRA did not increase patient empowerment. The study had a considerable decline in application engagement over time, with only a small subgroup of frequent users. These users showed more positive attitudes regarding usability and perceived usefulness of MyRA.
PMID:41165592 | DOI:10.1093/rheumatology/keaf565
