title: Usability and feasibility of mobile phone diaries in an experimental physical exercise study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Wireless and mobile phone technology as a method of data collection will increase alongside conventional methods. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the use of a mobile phone application for recording symptoms and physical activity exertion during an experimental physical exercise study.
  
  
  METHODS
  An experimental study on the effects of physical exercise on the well-being of menopausal women included 158 subjects between 44 and 63 years of age. The women were randomized into intervention and control groups. All participants in both groups reported daily symptoms by responding to morning and evening questionnaires via mobile phones. The usability of the mobile phone as a data collector tool was evaluated with the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire 2 months after the intervention. The feasibility evaluation was based on the frequency of responses and open questions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response rates were about 70% to both morning and evening questionnaires. The average frequency of responses (n =158) to morning questionnaires was 125 (±40)/170 (±14) and to evening questionnaires was 118 (±40)/171 (±14). The response rate did not differ between the intervention and the control groups. The SUS score was on average 75.4 (range, 0-100; n =107).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A mobile phone diary is a feasible and usable tool for data collection in clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland. reetta.heinonen@uta.fi
authors.forename: Reetta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heinonen
authors.forename: Riitta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Luoto
authors.forename: Pirjo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lindfors
authors.forename: Clas-Håkan
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Nygård
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D040421:Cell Phone; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011594:Psychometrics; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration