Usability and adaptability as Tools to Bridge the Digital Divide with Dr. Meshari Alwashmi
Episode description
Dr. Meshari Alwashmi is the Chief Scientific Officer at Breathe Suite and he joins the show today to discuss the findings of his recent qualitative study on the potential features of a mobile app as examined in conjunction with healthcare providers and patients.
We’re all aging, and everyone’s talking about it!
Key Takeaways
[:40] Jenna introduces today’s guest Meshari Alwashmi and asks him to talk about the reasons that took him towards the health sciences and more specifically digital health.
[2:38] Understanding which features of mobile health applications are attractive to both physicians (providers) and patients (users) who have COPD; Meshari talks about what he’s found from patients.
[6:30] Having an action plan is invaluable in the management of a chronic disease like COPD; Meshari shares his take on the action plan provided through the BreathSuite apps.
[8:33] Health care professionals agreed that usability and patient customization (or adaptability) were paramount in terms of app functionality as well as easy ways to gather patient usage data on specific variables (inhaler use, step tracking, and heart rate).
[12:05] Patient usage data is hugely empowering; Jenna and Meshari discuss the implications of this trend as well as that of some of his findings in the future.
[15:14] Breathe Suite is an app designed to track inhaler usage for patients with asthma and COPD, Meshari talks about the company and how the pandemic has affected app usage in patients.
[19:39] Dr. Alwashmi touches on the barriers that need to be overcome for mobile health applications to be successful.
[24:58] Jenna thanks Meshari for coming on the podcast. Until next time, subscribe, rate, and share!
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Mentioned in this episode
“Features of a mobile health intervention to manage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a qualitative study”, by Meshari Alwashmi
More about your hosts
More about today’s guest
Dr. Meshari Alwashmi is Chief Scientific Officer at BreatheSuite and a recent Ph.D. graduate in digital health at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John’s; you can find out more on his LinkedIn.