Patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals' needs when designing the content of a mobile application for the clinical monitoring of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and home oxygen therapy: A user-centered design.

Abstract

Patients with chronic respiratory diseases require oxygen supply in a considerable amount to reduce their symptoms and increase their survival. The development of abilities for the self-management of chronic diseases has been shown to be essential to decrease exacerbation of symptoms. Therefore, the design and development of health mobile applications (apps) that aid in educating and training for disease self-management are cost-effective strategies. The purpose of this research was to describe the main characteristics that, according to final users, should be included in a mobile application for monitoring patients prescribed home oxygen therapy. A participative-qualitative design was used, involving direct participation of patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. Focus groups were conducted to identify the needs and perspectives related to the app. A card sorting method was used to determine the contents and basic architecture of the app. By means of the focus groups, we could identify nine basic functions of the app for the clinical monitoring of patients under home oxygen therapy. For both profiles, the app structure was determined by identifying the most frequent contents among participants. The implementation of a user-centered design allowed for the detection of the functions, contents, and basic architecture of the app by identifying healthcare professionals and patients' needs and preferences regarding the self-management and monitoring of home oxygen prescriptions.