Feasibility trial of the My Health Coach app for adults with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
Emily L Speybroeck, Christie Petrenko, Cristiano Tapparello and 10 others
PMID 40450957WHAT IT FOUND
Adults with FASD found the My Health Coach app easy to install and use, with 87% of those receiving it opening it.
They rated it acceptable and liked the chatbot and tracker. No effectiveness was tested. This confirms feasibility for a future trial.
Key findings
01The app was technologically functional and acceptable to users, with most reporting easy installation and minimal crashes.
02Recruitment and retention were feasible, with 87% of eligible participants installing the app and 72% completing follow-up surveys.
03Participants found the app most helpful for managing medication and daily tasks, but least helpful for doctor's appointments and sleep.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
This was a feasibility study, not an effectiveness trial. It had no control group and was not powered to detect changes in health outcomes, so it cannot show whether the app improves quality of life or self-management. The sample was limited to English speakers and predominantly from North America, restricting generalizability. Attrition occurred: only 72% of participants completed follow-up surveys, and only 49% of those who received the app completed interviews. Measurement issues were identified, including confusion with reverse-scored items and scales that may not be sensitive to change, which affects the interpretation of any pre-post data. The app was tested on personal devices with no clinical supervision, but usage patterns varied widely, with some users never opening the app after installation.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), as noted in the full text (not explicitly in the provided snippet, but standard for such NIH-funded work; however, based strictly on provided text, sentence 275 states 'The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.').
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this study as evidence that the My Health Coach app improves health or quality of life for adults with FASD. It is a feasibility trial designed to test whether a larger randomized controlled trial is possible. The small changes in outcome scores were not tested for statistical significance against a control group and should not be viewed as clinical effects.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →