DCA-UX: A PPIE-Informed Formative Usability and Acceptability Study of a Condition-Specific Dietary mHealth Application for Patients with Heart Failure

Won £1,000 for our project.
We propose a PPIE-informed mixed-methods formative usability and acceptability study of a condition-specific dietary mHealth app (DCA), currently in prototype, aimed at supporting dietary self-management in people with HF. The study will combine expert UX evaluation with patient engagement and clinician input, and is structured:
• Expert heuristic evaluation: systematic assessment of the app against established usability heuristics and the validated Mobile Health App Usability Questionnaire MAUQ & SUS.
• Think-aloud usability sessions (n = 5–8 HF patients): participants will use the app to complete representative dietary logging tasks whilst narrating their experience.
• Semi-structured exit interviews (30 minutes per participant): following each session, a brief interview will explore acceptability, perceived usefulness, content comprehension, and appetite for sustained use.
• PPIE workshop (one half-day session, 6–8 participants including patients, carers, and one cardiac rehabilitation clinician): participants will review app content and design. Findings will directly inform & refine the prototype.