ActiveHip+: A feasible mHealth system for the recovery of older adults after hip surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective Half of older adults undergoing hip surgery do not recover their previous functional status. mHealth is a promising tool for rehabilitating older adults after hip surgery. This study aimed to test the feasibility of the ActiveHip+ mHealth system in older adults after hip surgery. Methods Sixty-nine older adults who had undergone hip surgery and their family caregivers were recruited from hospitals in Spain and Belgium and used the ActiveHip+ mHealth system for 12 weeks. Assessments were made during hospital stay and 3 months after surgery. Feasibility assessment included: adoption (participation proportion), usage (access to the app), satisfaction with the app (Net Promoter Score) and user perception of the quality of the app (Mobile App Rating Scale). Clinical assessment included: patient-reported outcomes, such as functional status (Functional Independence Measure) and performance-based outcomes, such as physical fitness (Short Physical Performance Battery). Results The ActiveHip+ mHealth system obtained satisfactory feasibility results in both countries. In Spain, we observed 85% adoption, 64% usage, 8.86/10 in satisfaction with the app and 4.42/5 in perceived quality of the app. In Belgium, we observed 82% adoption, 84% usage, 5.16/10 in satisfaction with the app and 3.52/5 in app's perceived quality. The intervention had positive effects on levels of functional status, pain and physical fitness. Conclusions The ActiveHip+ mHealth system is a feasible tool to conduct the rehabilitation in older adults after hip surgery. Although the intervention seemed beneficial clinically, we do not recommend its implementation in clinical settings until appropriately designed randomised clinical trials confirm these results.