Test-retest reliability of a mobile application of the patient reported outcomes burdens and experiences (PROBE) study

IntroductionThe Patient Reported Outcomes, Burdens, and Experiences (PROBE) questionnaire is a patient-reported outcome tool that assesses quality of life and disease burden in people with haemophilia (PWH).AimTo assesses the test-retest reliability of PROBE when completed using the mobile phone application.MethodsWe recruited PWH, including carriers, and individuals with no bleeding disorders who attended haemophilia-related workshops or via social media. Participants completed PROBE three times (twice on the app: T1 and T2, and once on the web, T3). Test-retest reliability was analysed for T1 versus T2 (app to app, time period one) and T2 versus T3 (app to web, time period two).ResultsWe enrolled 48 participants (median age = 56 [range 27-78] years). Eighteen participants (37.5%) were PWH and seven (14.6%) were carriers. On general health domain questions, we found almost perfect agreement, except for a question on the frequency of use of pain medication in the last 12 months [Kappa coefficient (kappa) .72 and .37 for time period one and two, respectively] and any use of pain medications (kappa .75) for time period two. For haemophilia-related questions, we found substantial to perfect agreement, except for the questions on the number of joint bleeds in the previous 6 months for time period one (kappa .49) and the number of bleeds in the previous two weeks for time period two (kappa .34).ConclusionsThe results demonstrate the reliability of the PROBE app. The app can be used interchangeably with the paper and web platforms for PROBE administration.