Toward a Digital Health Intervention for Vestibular Rehabilitation: Usability and Subjective Outcomes of a Novel Platform.

Digital technologies are increasingly available and are reducing in cost. There is an opportunity to move to a digital health approach in vestibular rehabilitation (VR), but there is a paucity of suitable systems available and a consequent lack of evidence to support their use. This study aimed to investigate a novel digital platform developed specifically for VR (comprising clinician software, a wearable sensor, and a patient-facing app). Participants ( n = 14, 9F:5M, mean age 59) with vestibular dysfunction and imbalance used the app for treatment, and therapists ( n = 4) used the platform to deliver VR in the form of individualized exercise programmes over a mean of 17.4 ± 8.8 weeks. Outcomes included the system usability scale, the patient enablement instrument (PEI), change in subjective symptoms (numerical rating scales), percentage adherence to prescribed exercise, and a semi-structured interview on utility. A significant reduction was found in symptoms of vertigo/dizziness ( p < 0.004), imbalance ( p < 0.002), oscillopsia ( p < 0.04), and anxiety ( p < 0.02) after use. System usability scores were high for both clinicians (mean 85/100) and participants (mean 82.7/100) and high enablement was reported (mean PEI 6.5/12). Overall percentage adherence to the exercise prescription was highly variable and ranged from 4 to 78% when measured digitally. At semi-structured interviews, participants reported a high level of acceptance and satisfaction with digital delivery, and no adverse events were recorded. When COVID-19 restrictions eased, 2 participants trialed the head sensor with the application and found it highly usable. Further research is required to investigate the efficacy and how the wearable sensor impacts the delivery of care.
Competing Interests: DMe is the inventor of the digital intervention that was employed in the study. It is patent pending and she is named on the patent. This research is being commercialized and she is a shareholder in a start-up company formed before the end of the study. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
(Copyright © 2022 Meldrum, Murray, Vance, Coleman, McConnell, Hardiman and McConn Walsh.)