mHealth systems for asthma self-management: Opinions of people with asthma and healthcare professionals (HCPs) on their use and functions

Rationale: mHealth systems are promising tools for supporting asthma self-management. Accommodating end-user needs and preferences in their design may improve uptake and compliance. Aim: To assess the opinions of people with asthma and HCPs on the use of mHealth self-management systems. Methods: A questionnaire was developed following framework analysis of transcripts from four focus groups, conducted with people with asthma and HCPs. Chi-square tests tested differences in response frequency between individuals with asthma and HCPs and between people with controlled and uncontrolled asthma. Results: 186 individuals with asthma (91 uncontrolled) and 63 HCPs completed questionnaires. Individuals with asthma most frequently requested a mHealth system to monitor asthma over time (72%) and to collect data to present to healthcare teams (70%). A system alerting patients to deteriorating asthma control (86%) and advising them when to seek medical attention (87%) were most frequently selected by HCPs. Individuals with asthma were less likely than HCPs (P≤0.001) to believe that measuring medication adherence, inhaler technique and respiratory symptoms could help them achieve better asthma control. Furthermore, individuals with uncontrolled asthma were more likely to believe that alerts to adverse environmental conditions (P Conclusion: Our data highlight different end-user opinions with regards to mHealth systems for asthma self-management. New mHealth systems should accommodate the views of HCPs and people with controlled and uncontrolled asthma.