Mobile Application for Promoting Gluten-Free Diet Self-Management in Adolescents with Celiac Disease: Proof-of-Concept Study

Abstract

Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic disease treated by maintaining and managing a lifelong restrictive gluten-free diet. The purpose of this study was to develop a mobile application, Plan My C-Day, to promote self-management skills among youth with CD during adolescence—a time when decreased adherence often occurs—and examine its usability among adolescents with CD. Plan My C-Day contains three simulations of activities involving eating out and actions to take when preparing for these events. It was developed and pilot tested by 13 adolescents with CD. Application use and user perception data were collected and analyzed. Participants chose 160 actions within the simulations. For over 75% of participants, the time to complete the simulation decreased from the first to the third (last) simulation by an average of 50%. The average reported usability perception was 3.71 on a scale of 1 to 5, with system ease of use and ease of learning obtaining the highest scores. This study demonstrated that the Plan My C-Day mobile application’s self-management content, features, and functions operated well and that the simulations were easy to understand and complete. Further development will include the option to add self-created activities and adaptation to different languages and cultures.