This is an electronic version of an article published in: Agneta Ranerup and Inger Hallberg, Actors and intentions in the development process of a mobile phone platform for self-management of hypertension, 2015, Informatics for Health and Social Care,(40)
Abstract AimThe aim of this study was to enhance the knowledge regarding actors and intentions in the development process of a mobile phone platform for self-management of hypertension.
MethodsOur research approach was a 14-month longitudinal "real-time ethnography" method of description and analysis. Data were collected through focus groups with patients and providers, patient interviews, and design meetings with researchers and experts. The analysis was informed by the concepts of actors and inscriptions in Actor-Network Theory (ANT).
ResultsOur study showed that laypersons, scientific actors, as well as technology itself, might influence development processes of support for self-management of hypertension. The intentions were inscribed into the technology design as well as the models of learning and treatment.
ConclusionsThis study highlighted important aspects of how actors and intentions feature in the development of the mobile phone platform to support self-management of hypertension. The study indicated the multifacetedness of the participating actors, including the prominent role of technology. The concrete results of such processes included questions in the self-report system, learning and treatment models.-3 -