#3563 Validation of an M-Health Technology to Support Patients Undergoing Peritoneal Dialysis

Abstract

Background and Aims A global increase in the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and, consequently, in the number of individuals submitted to renal replacement therapy (RRT) has been observed. In Brazil, there was an increase from 46,557 to 144,779 (>310%) in the number of people on dialysis between the years 2001 and 2020, respectively. Although peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a safe, low-cost and less aggressive dialysis method when compared to hemodialysis (HD) and can be performed at the home, HD remains the most common RRT type in Brazil (92.2%). This study aimed to validate a PD section incorporated into an existing m-Health application (app) called 'Renal Health®'. Method This is a methodological study, with a quantitative and applied approach. For internal validation of the app usability, ten specialists/researchers in the study topic from the Nursing Nephrology participated in the study, hereafter referred to as ‘judges’, who carried out the validation process of the content to be inserted into the Renal Health® app. The validation instrument was sent to them electronically, organized according to a Likert scale following a four-degree gradation. Based on the specialists’ answers, the means of agreement were calculated, which ranged from –1 for a negative evaluation; 0 (zero) for a neither positive nor negative evaluation; and, +1 when the evaluation was positive. Data evaluation was done using descriptive statistics and the calculation of the content validity index (CVI). Each item of the validation instrument was analyzed in relation to these obtained averages, which, if they were less than 80%, would indicate the need for modifications. An evaluation instrument was created with 22 items arranged in three domains: objectives (4), structure and presentation (15), and relevance (3), aiming to reflect the app functionality, usability and appearance. Results Regarding the objectives related to the PD section, none of items received an “irrelevant” assessment and its CVI ranged from 0.90 to 1.0, with an overall CVI of 0.95. The sub-items with the highest scores were related to the text being compatible with the target audience and the PD section of the app having adequate information/content to guide the patients. Among the 15 sub-items related to the structure and presentation of the PD section, six showed 90% agreement among the judges and were distributed as follows: they indicated that the information directed to the object of interest was sufficient and adequate; stated that the colors applied to the text were relevant and facilitated its use; that the subtitles applied were adequate and helped the user to understand the image; confirmed that the amount of illustration was adequate for the content of the material; that the illustrations were clear and easy to understand and that they were relevant to the content of the material and elucidated the content. The other sub-items had a maximum CVI (1.0) and the overall CVI for this domain was 0.95. Finally, regarding the relevance of the PD section, all sub-items showed 100% agreement among the participants, so that the overall CVI was 1.0. Regarding the qualitative analysis of the instrument, there was no disagreement between the judges and/or suggestions for changes in the PD section. Conclusion The present study allowed the validation of the PD section in the Renal Health® app, which showed good reliability and could promote the use of m-Health technology to support users undergoing this type of dialysis.