Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Dermatology
Date Submitted: Mar 17, 2021
Date Accepted: May 17, 2021
Date Submitted to PubMed: Aug 26, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
A qualitative evaluation of an mHealth application to support patients with psoriasis in relation to follow-up consultations
ABSTRACT
Background:
Teledermatology has the potential, to help deliver healthcare by transforming the relationship between patients and healthcare professionals, shifting the power of consultation so that patients can become more informed, assertive and involved in their care. mHealth is already a promising and reliable tool for the long-term management of psoriasis patients on systemic treatment. In an attempt to facilitate a more patient-centred approach in clinical practice, we designed and developed an mHealth solution in order to support patients in self-management and empowerment.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of patients and healthcare professionals of using an mHealth solution that was developed using a participatory design approach.
Methods:
The study was designed as an explorative qualitative study. Data were collected by way of semi-structured interviews with patients and focus group interviews with healthcare professionals.
Results:
All participants found it easy to use the mHealth solution and patients found it convenient. Patients’ reflexivity was improved because they could prepare ahead of consultations. Video consultations provided patients with a degree of freedom in their everyday lives, not having to attend to in-person visits. Among the healthcare professionals there were concerns regarding their medical responsibilities since they could not asses the patients’ skin as they used to. The mHealth solution required new workflows and procedures that were not part of the existing consultations routines.
Conclusions:
The mHealth solution can strengthen the relationship between healthcare professionals and patients and facilitate patients to become more active in their care. Alignment and structure in relation to selection of eligible patient candidates for being offered the mHealth solution could reduce social health inequalities. In addition, video consultations changed the healthcare professionals’ work practice, necessitating new types of skills to communicate with patients. Clinical Trial: The study was approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency (2012-58-0018).
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Copyright
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