AB1230 Patient empowerment through the use of a mobile phone application: the experience of rheumabuddy in italy

Background Patient education and empowerment are cornerstones in the management of rheumatic and muscoloskeletal diseases (RMDs). In fact, they improve the physician-patient relationship and ensure a successful shared decision making process. In recent years, the esponential growth of interactive media and the progress of technology led to the parallel development of digital healthcare and the evaluation of how tools like mobile applications (app) can contribute to patient empowerment. Rheumabuddy has been developed thanks to the collaboration of the Danish association of young patients with RMDs (FNUG) and a Danish agency specialised in digital heathcare (Daman). RheumaBuddy is designed for young patients (18–35 years old) with chronic arthritis and integrates the function of a diary to monitor the main features of the disease (e.g. pain, stiffness, fatigue) and a forum to interact with other users and provide mutual help. Objectives We aimed at developing the Italian version of RheumaBuddy to make it available to Italian patients with RMDs. Methods The Italian Society of Rheumatology Committee for young rheumatologists (SIRyoung) translated the content of the app from English to Italian adapting when needed because of language incompatibility. Results The Italian version of RheumaBuddy was launched on the 12th October 2017 (World Arthritis Day) in partnership with national patient associations (ANMAR and APMAR). The app was also presented via a press release from the Italian Society of Rheumatology. To date, RheumaBuddy was downloaded by 1182 users with 822 of them currently using the app on a regular basis. The feedback collected so far highlighted the usefulness of the app and pointed out potential weaknesses and issues to be tailored to the Italian population. The gathering of feedback from users is still ongoing. Conclusions We developed the Italian version of RheumaBuddy, which is currently used by a consistent number of young patients with chronic arthritis. A board including patient representatives, rheumatologists and the app developers will be established to specifically tailor the app according to the needs and priority of Italian users and based on the feedback collected. Disclosure of Interest None declared