JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Despite the growing interest and exponential popularity of mobile health Apps for long-term conditions such as rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) and their self-management, patients are rarely directly consulted and involved in the Apps development process.

Objective:

Our objective was to explore the needs, experiences and views of people diagnosed with RMDs about mHealth Apps.

Methods:

The study used a mixed method approach: (i) an initial qualitative phase via a patient focus group in the UK; (ii) a survey disseminated through national organisations for patients with RMDs across EU, USA, Canada and Australia.

Results:

The focus group included six patients with life-long musculoskeletal conditions. Half had used a self-management App at least once. The use of existing Apps was reported as time consuming due to lack of functionality. The need for be-spoke Apps was voiced by all participants. Among 424 patients across European countries, USA, Canada and Australia, the main age group was 45-54 years (28.7%), 86.8% women. Half of the respondents were aware of the existence of Apps to support self-management of their RMDs (53%) with 42% of them currently using such devices. Patients were mostly interested in an App to self-monitor their health parameters (74.9%) and disease activity (63.9%) or communicate directly with their health care provider (57.8%).

Conclusions:

Patients considered that using an App could help them to self-manage their RMD condition if tailored to their needs and co-developed with health professionals. The development of such Apps will require standardization and regular quality control.