TY  - JOUR
AU  - He, Xing
AU  - Bian, Jiang
AU  - Berlinski, Ariel
AU  - Guo, Yi
AU  - Simmons, A Larry
AU  - Marshall, S Alexandra
AU  - Greene, Carolyn J
AU  - Brown, Rita Hudson
AU  - Turner, Jessica
AU  - Perry, Tamara T
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/4/24
TI  - Mobile Health App for Adolescent Asthma Self-Management: Development and Usability Study of the Pulmonary Education and Knowledge Mobile Asthma Action Plan
JO  - JMIR Form Res
SP  - e64212
VL  - 9
KW  - asthma self-management
KW  - mobile health
KW  - user-centered design
KW  - usability
KW  - adolescents
KW  - mobile phone
AB  - Background: Adolescents with asthma are vulnerable to poor asthma outcomes due to inadequate self-management skills and nonadherence to medications. Mobile health (mHealth) apps have shown promise in improving asthma control, medication adherence, and self-efficacy. However, existing mHealth asthma apps lack personalization and real-time feedback and are not tailored for at-risk adolescents. Objective: This study aimed to design, develop, and test a smartphone-based mHealth Asthma Action Plan for adolescents, called Pulmonary Education and Knowledge Mobile Asthma Action Plan (PEAK-mAAP), in preparation for a large-scale randomized controlled trial. Methods: We employed user-centered design principles to develop our app, leveraging our previous work and following guidelines from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The app consists of a patient-facing mobile app and a provider-facing portal. A convenience sample of 13 adolescents (aged 12‐20 years) was recruited from the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute database or direct health care provider referrals. Participants underwent a task-based usability assessment followed by the System Usability Scale assessment to measure user satisfaction, interface effectiveness, and overall system usability. Results: PEAK-mAAP integrates 7 core modules supporting personalized asthma self-management, symptom monitoring, medication tracking, and real-time feedback. The mean System Usability Scale score was 83/100 (SD 5.54), indicating high user satisfaction and system usability. Notably, older adolescents (>17 years) reported higher usability scores (87.5) than younger users (77.5), suggesting potential age-related differences in app navigation and engagement. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that PEAK-mAAP is a feasible and user-friendly mHealth intervention for adolescent asthma self-management. While the high usability score reflects a positive user experience, some participants encountered initial usability challenges, highlighting the need for minor refinements and user training materials. The integration of personalized self-management tools and real-time feedback distinguishes PEAK-mAAP from existing asthma apps, addressing key barriers to adherence and engagement. Moving forward, an ongoing randomized controlled trial will assess its clinical effectiveness, long-term engagement, and impact on asthma outcomes, providing further insights into its potential as a scalable solution for adolescent asthma care. 
SN  - 2561-326X
UR  - https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e64212
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/64212
DO  - 10.2196/64212
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/64212
ER  -