Creation of a Patient-facing Mobile App for a Stress Urinary Incontinence Surgery Registry

The objective of this project was to develop and pilot a patient-facing mobile app to be integrated with a newly created national stress urinary incontinence (SUI) registry. This project focused on mesh-based mid-urethral slings, which are already approved for use in SUI surgery but have known limitations. The Test-Case utilized the newly developed application to collect patient-reported outcomes (PROs) across the SUI registry sites to assess the impact of mesh-based mid-urethral slings on PROs.

SUI is one of the most common conditions affecting the quality of life (QoL) of women. One in every two women will experience SUI in their lifetime, and often the symptoms are severe enough to warrant an intervention using mesh-based mid-urethral slings. All SUI procedures using slings involve mesh use, and there are serious concerns about mesh erosions and reoperations. The overall goal for the mobile app is to generate real-world PROs, including relevant safety, efficacy and quality of life outcomes, related to SUI surgery and the associated devices. This data complements provider-reported data collected in the SUI registry and data in electronic health records (EHRs) regarding SUI surgeries.

This project was enhanced by working with the NESTcc Research Network, and both the support of a large group of hospitals and the ability to work with the providers and EHRs associated with them were advantageous to the Test-Case. In addition, this project added a new dimension to the NESTcc Research Network by combining the mobile health and registry experience in a unique patient population.