Potential Development of a Mobile Application for Gout Self-Management: What Support Do Patients Need?

Abstract

Purpose With the increasing prevalence and chronic course of gout, the use of mobile health (mHealth) applications (APPs) for gout self-management is attracting considerable research attention as an effective approach to improving health outcomes. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the self-management support that a mHealth APP for gout should provide to patients according to their needs. The aim of this study was to interview patients with gout and identify their needs with respect to gout self-management support. Patients and Methods We conducted qualitative research using a purposive sampling method from January 2019 to August 2019. Individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients recruited from West China Hospital in Sichuan, China. The qualitative data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed by thematic analysis. Results Ten male patients with gout were included in the final analysis. Instrumental, psychological, and relational support emerged as themes describing the needs of patients for gout self-management support. The instrumental support included health education, hospital registration, setting reminders, and shopping. Psychological support referred to helping patients mitigate various negative emotions. Relational support included interactions with healthcare providers and fellow patients. Conclusion The present findings indicate that healthcare providers or companies should develop mHealth APPs for gout self-management based on the needs of patients.

The Impact of mHealth-Based Continuous Care on Disease Knowledge, Treatment Compliance, and Serum Uric Acid Levels in Chinese Patients With Gout: Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Health education is a crucial intervention method for continuous care and a primary means to promote chronic disease self-management. In our previous studies, we identified the health education needs of patients with gout through qualitative interviews [ 27 ]. Next, we used this information to develop an mHealth-based gout continuous care program.…”

“…In China, the mHealth support necessary for the self-management of patients with gout includes instrumental support (health education, hospital registration, setting reminders, and shopping), relational support (interactions with health care providers and fellow patients), and psychological support (helping patients mitigate various negative emotions) [ 27 ]. Using the IFSMT, we developed the Gout Intelligent Management app, an mHealth app for continuous gout care.…”

“…We designed the health education module of this app according to the process dimension of the IFSMT. We referred to an authoritative guide [ 26 28 29 ] developed in a previous study on health education [ 27 ] and edited it into 24 weeks of health education graphic and text materials ( Table 1 ). We invited 4 rheumatologists, 4 rheumatology nurses, and 2 patients with gout to revise the draft of the health education materials to ensure accuracy and readability.…”

Health literacy in patients with gout: A latent profile analysis

“…Patients with gout usually suffer from pain, joint deformity, impaired mobility, kidney damage, anxiety, depression, and other problems, which seriously jeopardize the physical and mental health and quality of life of patients with gout [ 3 , 4 ]. As a chronic disease, gout is prone to recurrent flares (when symptoms get worse), and patients with gout need to take action to manage the disease over the long term to improve their health outcomes [ 5 ]. However, the current health behaviors and health outcomes of patients with gout need to be improved.…”