Developing and Validating myHESTIA: A Home Safety Screening and Intervention App

Research Objectives: To describe the iterative development and early content validity testing procedures of the myHESTIA app. myHESTIA is an app designed to be used by aging adults, people with disabilities, and/or their support persons (e.g., family members, caregivers, handymen, community health workers) as a home safety screening and intervention guidance tool.

Design: Development has been guided using an existing professional version of the app (HESTIApro) and through Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology with experts and potential end-users. Content validity is tested through an online survey.

Setting: PAR meetings and content validity surveys were all completed online.

Participants: Twenty participants have contributed to the development of myHESTIA so far including (1) adults with disabilities or caregivers for persons with disabilities (N=15) and (2) experts in home safety and disability (N=5).

Interventions: N/A

Main Outcome Measures: Qualitative data from PAR meetings and open-ended survey feedback and calculation of item content validity index (I-CVI) and scale content validity index (S-CVI) (Shi, Mo, & Sun, 2012).

Results: The 20 participants have contributed to the refinement of content in the myHESTIA app. Changes to wording, formatting, and high-fidelity mock-ups have been made based on participant feedback, ratings, and direction. The high-fidelity mock-ups and wireframing will support the next step of developing a Beta-version of myHESTIA.

Conclusions: The myHESTIA app has undergone rigorous development procedures and is currently near completion of content validity testing. Early evidence suggests that the screening tool questions have good item and scale content validity. These findings support the development of a Beta-version of myHESTIA.

Author(s) Disclosures: This project was supported, in part by grant number 90DPGE0016, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201.