Information needs and preferences of patients with an ankle fracture: User involvement study creating an mHealth solution.

Objective: The aim of this study was to employ a user-driven participatory design (PD) approach to develop an mHealth solution that addresses patients' information needs after surgical or non-surgical treatment for an ankle fracture.

Methods: Patients with an ankle fracture and health care professionals along the treatment pathway in both the hospital and municipality participated in four workshops (WS).

Results: We found that patients with an ankle fracture need information on topics such as "a typical course," "bandages and assistive devices," "what can I feel," "what may I do," "what to usually worry about," "medicine," "tips and tricks," and "contact information." Moreover, patients requested diverse modes of dissemination, preferably a combination of text, timelines, pictures, animations, and videos. Alpha and beta testing of the digital platform was conducted, and content-related improvements were made. A readability analysis showed reading ease of 40.1 of 100, meaning that it should be easily understood by 15-16 year-olds.

Conclusion: Involving representatives of future users in creating this mHealth solution using PD demonstrates the benefits of creating a solution that aligns with users' needs.

Practice Implications: The mHealth solution is now ready for implementation and large-scale evaluation in phase three of the overall PD study. An mHealth usability questionnaire will be employed to assess usability by future patients with surgically or non-surgically treated ankle fractures.