The Headaches of Developing a Concussion App for Youth

This descriptive manuscript describes challenges, solutions, and recommendations to provide a supportive framework for clinician researchers striving to develop a clinical app. The Back2Play app aims to support youth in concussion recovery through mobile health monitoring. Developed in Phase 1 of a randomized control trial, the app intends to prevent re-injury and improve recovery by integrating evidence-based return-to-school and activity guidelines with biological monitoring. Methods outline the stages of successful app development. Identified challenges include defining app requirements, database hosting, development, and legal procedures. Results of usability testing show that the Back2Play app was highly acceptable to 66% of youth and none found it unacceptable. Successful clinical app development hinges on understanding the scope of the app, data management and exportation. Adequate funds should also be allocated for potential delays. These recommendations provide a framework for clinical researchers hoping to develop a clinical app that achieves their envisioned outcome.