A Web-Based Application for Complex Health Care Populations: User-Centered Design Approach
Authors: Ferrucci Francesca , Jorio Manuele , Marci Stefano , Bezenchek Antonia , Diella Giulia , Nulli Cinzia , Miranda Ferdinando , Castelli-Gattinara Guido 
Published: December 2020

Background

Although eHealth technology makes it possible to improve the management of complex health care systems and follow up on chronic patients, it is not without challenges, thus requiring the development of efficient programs and graphic user interface (GUI) features. Similar information technology tools are crucial, as health care populations are going to have to endure social distancing measures in the forthcoming months and years.

Objective

This study aims to provide adequate and personalized support to complex health care populations by developing a specific web-based mobile app. The app is designed around the patient and adapted to specific groups, for example, people with complex or rare diseases, autism, or disabilities (especially among children) as well as Alzheimer or senile dementia. The app’s core features include the collection, labeling, analysis, and sorting of clinical data. Furthermore, it authorizes a network of people around the patient to securely access the data contained in his or her electronic health record.

Methods

The application was designed according to the paradigms of patient-centered care and user-centered design (UCD). It considers the patient as the main empowered and motivating factor in the management of his or her well-being. Implementation was informed through a family needs and technology perception assessment. We used 3 interdisciplinary focus groups and 2 assessment surveys to study the contexts of app use, subpopulation management, and preferred functions. Finally, we developed an observational study involving 116 enrolled patients and 253 system users, followed by 2 feedback surveys to evaluate the performance and impact of the app.

Results

In the validated general GUI, we developed 10 user profiles with different privacy settings. We tested 81 functions and studied a modular structure based on disease or medical area. This allowed us to identify replicable methods to be applied to module design. The observational study not only showed good family and community engagement but also revealed some limitations that need to be addressed. In total, 42 of 51 (82%) patients described themselves as satisfied or very satisfied. Health care providers reported facilitated communication with colleagues and the need to support data quality.

Conclusions

The experimented solution addressed some of the health system challenges mentioned by the World Health Organization: usability appears to be significantly improved when the GUI is designed according to patients’ UCD mental models and when new media and medical literacy are promoted. This makes it possible to maximize the impact of eHealth products, thereby overcoming some crucial gaps reported in the literature. Two main features seemed to have potential benefit compared with other eHealth products: the modeling, within the app, of both the formal and informal health care support networks and the modular structure allowing for comorbidity management, both of which require further implementation.