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. 2023 May;37(5):771-781.
doi: 10.1177/02692163231162408. Epub 2023 Mar 31.

Co-design and prototype development of the 'Ayzot App': A mobile phone based remote monitoring system for palliative care

Nicola Carey  1 , Ephrem Abathun  2 , Roma Maguire  3 , Yohans Wodaje  4 , Catherine Royce  5 , Nicola Ayers  6   7
Affiliations

Co-design and prototype development of the 'Ayzot App': A mobile phone based remote monitoring system for palliative care

Nicola Carey et al. Palliat Med. 2023 May.

Abstract

Background: Palliative care, a recognised component of care by the World Health Organization is poorly developed in low- and middle-income countries. Mobile phone technology, an effective way to increase access and sustainability of healthcare systems globally, has demonstrated benefits within palliative care service delivery, but is yet to be utilised in Ethiopia.

Aim: To co-design, develop and evaluate a mobile phone based remote monitoring system for use by palliative care patients in Ethiopia.

Design: Two-phase co-design approach comprising multiple methods that is stakeholder interviews, focus groups, user-co-creation activities and healthcare worker prioritisation discussions 2019-2020. Phase-1 interviews (n = 40), Phase-2 focus groups (n = 3) and interviews (n = 10).

Setting/participants: Hospice Ethiopia and Yekatit 12 Medical College Hospital: healthcare workers, palliative care patients, family carers & software-developers.

Results: Co-design activities lead to development of the prototype 'Ayzot' application, which was well received and reported to be easy to use. Patients, and family caregivers saw provision of self-care information and symptom management as a key function of the App and expressed very positive attitudes towards such information being included. Healthcare workers found the App offered service benefits, in terms of time and cost-savings.

Conclusion: This paper provides a detailed example of the development and design of a prototype remote monitoring system using mobile phone technology for palliative care use in Ethiopia. Further development and real-world testing are required, to not only understand how it acts within usual care to deliver anticipated benefits but also to explore its effectiveness and provide cost estimates for wider implementation.

Keywords: Ethiopia; app development; co-design; mHealth; palliative care; user testing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The study did not receive ethics approval, or participant consent, to place a study dataset in the public domain. The data, and tools used for its collection in this study can be made accessible to qualified researchers upon reasonable request pursuant to any restrictions required to ensure the privacy of human subjects involved. Access to data will be subject to a data sharing agreement approved by the University of the Highlands and Islands. Researchers interested in accessing USEFUL data should send their request to the Head of Research, Professor Gill Hubbard (gill.hubbard@uhi.ac.uk).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Study methods with double diamond model.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Overview of the co-design process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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