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. 2020 Aug 4;4(8):e15669.
doi: 10.2196/15669.

Needs and Requirements in the Designing of Mobile Interventions for Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease: Questionnaire Study

Julia Lortz  1 , Jan Simanovski  2 , Tabea Kuether  3 , Ilonka Kreitschmann-Andermahr  4 , Greta Ullrich  1 , Martin Steinmetz  1 , Christos Rammos  1 , Rolf Alexander Jánosi  1 , Susanne Moebus  2 , Tienush Rassaf  1 , Katrin Paldán  2   3
Affiliations

Needs and Requirements in the Designing of Mobile Interventions for Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease: Questionnaire Study

Julia Lortz et al. JMIR Form Res. .

Abstract

Background: The development of mobile interventions for noncommunicable diseases has increased in recent years. However, there is a dearth of apps for patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), who frequently have an impaired ability to walk.

Objective: Using a patient-centered approach for the development of mobile interventions, we aim to describe the needs and requirements of patients with PAD regarding the overall care situation and the use of mobile interventions to perform supervised exercise therapy (SET).

Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted in addition to a clinical examination at the vascular outpatient clinic of the West-German Heart and Vascular Center of the University Clinic Essen in Germany. Patients with diagnosed PAD were asked to answer questions on sociodemographic characteristics, PAD-related need for support, satisfaction with their health care situation, smartphone and app use, and requirements for the design of mobile interventions to support SET.

Results: Overall, a need for better support of patients with diagnosed PAD was identified. In total, 59.2% (n=180) expressed their desire for more support for their disease. Patients (n=304) had a mean age of 67 years and half of them (n=157, 51.6%) were smartphone users. We noted an interest in smartphone-supported SET, even for people who did not currently use a smartphone. "Information," "feedback," "choosing goals," and "interaction with physicians and therapists" were rated the most relevant components of a potential app.

Conclusions: A need for the support of patients with PAD was determined. This was particularly evident with regard to disease literacy and the performance of SET. Based on a detailed description of patient characteristics, proposals for the design of mobile interventions adapted to the needs and requirements of patients can be derived.

Keywords: digital intervention; mHealth; peripheral arterial disease; smartphone usage; supervised exercise therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Descriptive analysis of user preferences in terms of offered app components for patients with peripheral arterial disease (refers to Question 15 of the questionnaire). Note that multiple choices were possible.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Descriptive analysis of user-reported relevance in terms of health app components that would assist patients with peripheral arterial disease performing supervised walking training. The analysis refers to question 15 of the questionnaire. Note that multiple choices were possible. In the questionnaire, we used the term "supervised walking training" instead of the technical term "supervised exercise therapy" (SET) because the German word “Gehtraining” is more established in clinical practice.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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