Smartphone-based application for self-management of patients with colorectal cancer: development and usability evaluation

Purpose Self-management is considered essential for improving the treatment and management of colorectal cancer patients. This study was conducted to develop and evaluate the usability of a smartphone-based application for the self-management of patients with colorectal cancer. Methods We developed an Android-based application called “Colorectal Cancer Along (ColorectAlong)” for the self-management of colorectal cancer. Seventeen patients, from the Cancer Institute of Iran, evaluated the usability of this application for 2 weeks using a standard questionnaire for user interaction satisfaction (QUIS) version 5.5. The obtained data was analyzed using SPSS software version 26. Results The ColorectAlong application was developed with features covering several areas of colorectal cancer self-management. The areas available for evaluation in the app are patient profile; medication management; nutrition and diet management; pain management; mental health; smoking cessation and alcohol reduction; educational content; and adding reminders, questions, and notes. Our results indicate that the usability of this application is good with an average QUIS score of 8.03 out of 9. Conclusion The ColorectAlong application can improve self-management, assist patients, and facilitate access to required information without the need for internet access.