Designing a smartphone application supporting young people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis in consultations with Rheumatologists: A participatory design study

Abstract

Formål Dette studie undersøger, hvordan en smartphoneapplikation, der støtter unge mennesker med leddegigt i deres konsultationer med reumatologer, kan udvikles. Metoder Studiet er udført som et participatorisk designstudie, med unge mennesker med leddegigt som deltagere i designteamet. Undersøgelsesdesignet bygger på følgende kvalitative undersøgelsesmetoder: Fokusgruppeinterview, kontekstuelle undersøgelser, etnografiske observationer, designworkshop og kollaborative evalueringer. Anden del af designteamet inkluderede to reumatologer. Undersøgelsesdesignet bestod i denne fase af semi-strukturerede interviews og kollaborative evalueringer. Tilsammen styrker dette brede undersøgelsesdesign muligheden for at afdække systemkrav fra alle involverede interessenter. Resultater Unge mennesker med leddegigt er påvirket af deres sygdom i næsten alle aspekter af deres liv. Undersøgelsen af relationen mellem unge mennesker med leddegigt og deres reumatologer viste, at der er et stort potentiale for at forbedre udbyttet af denne Reumatologer har meget kort tid til hver konsultation, og er derfor meget tilbageholdende med at inddrage for mange udefrakommende, tidskrævende faktorer. Derfor er det afgørende for udviklingen af en smartphoneapplikation, der skal bringes i spil i konsultationer, at den tager højde for lægernes tidsbegrænsning, ved at tilbyde informationer, der er overskuelige og genkendelige. Konklusion Studiet konkluderer at en smartphoneapplikation udviklet til unge med leddegigt kan styrke patient empowerment. For at udvikle en smartphoneapplikation, der kan støtte unge med leddegigt i deres konsultationer, er det afgørende at både de unge og reumatologerne bliver inddraget i udviklingsarbejdet, for at applikationen kan blive anerkendt af begge parter. For at smartphoneapplikationen kan præsentere kvalitetsdata, kræves det at indtastningsmulighederne foregår i et lineært forløb. Det lineære forløb øger også brugernes tilskyndelse til at bruge smartphone-applikationen. Data præsenteret på smartphoneapplikationen skal præsenteres simpelt og indeholde genkendelige værdier, før reumatologer vil tage den til sig i den allerede eksisterende praksis i konsultationen.

Objective This study researches how to develop a smartphone application that supports young people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis in consultations with their Rheumatologists. Methods The design process is performed as a participatory design approach, by involving young people with Rheumatoid Arthritis as part of the design team. The development process builds on an extensive research of the problem situation by conducting focus group interviews, contextual inquiry, a conceptualisation workshop, and cooperative evaluations. Two Rheumatologists have also been a part of the design process during semi-structured interviews, as well as through cooperative evaluations. This ensures that all stakeholder requirements have been located and met, even tertiary ones. Results Young people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis are challenged in almost every aspect of their everyday life because of their condition. Understanding their relation to their Rheumatologists reveals a potential for enhancing their position when attending consultations. Rheumatologists are rather protective of the sparse amount of time allocated for each consultation. Thus, designing an application for smartphones to support patients has to consider this requirement of the Rheumatologists in order to be successfully adapted by the young people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Conclusion The study concludes that developing a smartphone application to support young people living in consultations with Rheumatologists can enhance patient empowerment. Developing a successful application relies extensively on involving all stakeholders in the problem situation throughout the whole process. The data input in the application has to follow a linear path to ensure user engagement and data quality. The data has to present data that is visualised as simply and recognisably as possible to the Rheumatologist, in order to be adapted into the preexisting practice of consultations.

A master thesis from Aalborg University

Designing a smartphone application supporting young people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis in consultations with Rheumatologists: A participatory design study

[Design af en smartphoneapplikation der kan støtte unge mennesker med leddegigt i konsultation med reumatologer: Et participatorisk designstudie]