These are important findings which will help clinicians think about what their patients should be expecting from tele-health and so help design better systems.
- Dr Veronika Williams, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
The app integrates a daily symptom diary with the technology to monitor clinical parameters, as well as multimedia and educational tools to support the self-monitoring and self-management of COPD.
It has been developed at the University of Oxford by clinical researchers from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and engineers from the Department of Engineering Science.
COPD is one of the most common respiratory diseases in the UK and includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive airway disease. It places a significant burden on the health of those living with the condition.
Lionel Tarassenko, Professor of Electrical Engineering, Department of Engineering Science said:
"The emergence of Android tablets and iPads has given us the opportunity to develop apps which are tailored to the needs of patients with long-term conditions, even if they have little or no previous experience of using computers”.
The qualitative interview based study, led by Dr Veronika Williams from theNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, aimed to explore COPD patients’ experience of using the system over a six-month period.
Patients reported that it was easy to use and provided reassurance, a sense of continuity of care, and increased awareness of varying symptoms over time. Patients also reported that they were more likely to engage in self-management behaviours such as breathing exercises and taking their medication regularly.
“Our initial study has shown that these applications can support patients with chronic conditions like COPD to manage their own symptoms from home, which can improve patient wellbeing and reduce the need for hospital admission. These are important findings which will help clinicians think about what their patients should be expecting from tele-health and so help design better systems.”
Professor Andrew Farmer, who is leading a full-scale clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of this tele-health intervention to improve patients’ quality-of-life, commented:
“By supporting self-management, tele-health may lead to sustainable improvements in health.”
The study was part of a project funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Department of Health through a Health Innovation Challenge Fund award.
Paper reference:
Williams V, Price J, Hardinge M, Tarassenko L, Farmer A. Using a mobile health application to support self-management in COPD: a qualitative study. BJGP 2014 64: 624 e392-e400 doi: 10.3399/bjgp14X680473