Preliminary Feasibility Evaluation of a mHealth App to Promote Physical Activity in Manual Wheelchair Users

Research Objectives: To evaluate the preliminary feasibility of the WheelFit app for promoting physical activity (PA) in manual wheelchair users (MWUs).

Design: Four-week quasi-experimental design (one-week baseline and three-week intervention)

Setting: Community.

Participants: A consecutive sample of 15 adult MWUs with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) who haven’t been engaged in structured PA regularly for at least six months.

Interventions: Participants received a remote PA intervention using the WheelFit app, which featured PA tracking and an adaptive workout library, along with an action plan prescribed by a virtual physical therapist and personal trainer consultation.

Main Outcome Measures: PA was quantified using active times (minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA) and sedentary breaks (number of half hours in which users performed at least two consecutive minutes of light activities), while attitude towards PA was assessed by SCI Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES). The app usability was evaluated using the system usability scale (SUS).

Results: There was an increase in active time (Mean = 7.3, SD = 22.1, 95% CI [-4.9, 20.0], p = .110), and almost no change in sedentary breaks (Mean = -0.4, SD = 3.5, 95% CI [-2.4, 1.5], p = .316). The ESES score indicated improved confidence (Mean = 1.5, SD = 4.1, 95% CI [-0.7, 3.8], p = .083). The mean SUS score of 81.2 (SD = 19.7) showed good app usability.

Conclusions: Remote PA intervention with the WheelFit app showed good feasibility in this population. It also demonstrated potential in promoting and improving MWUs’ self-efficacy on PA, but more participant data is needed.

Author(s) Disclosures: This research project was supported by the Criag Neilsen Foundation under Grant #546511. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Criag Neilsen Foundation.