Perspectives of patients and healthcare professionals on mHealth for asthma selfmanagement

Rationale: mHealth has the potential to revolutionise the self-management of long-term medical conditions such as asthma. A user-centred design is integral if mHealth is to be embraced by patients and healthcare professionals. Objective: Determine the perspectives of individuals with asthma and healthcare professionals on the use of mHealth for asthma selfmanagement. Methods: A sequential exploratory mixed methods design was used; focus groups informed the development of questionnaires, which were disseminated to individuals with asthma and healthcare professionals. Results: Focus group participants (18 asthma patients and five healthcare professionals) identified 12 potential uses of mHealth. Questionnaire results showed that individuals with asthma (n=186) most frequently requested a mHealth system to monitor asthma over time (72%) and to collect data to present to healthcare teams (70%). In contrast, a system alerting patients to deteriorating asthma control (86%) and advising them when to seek medical attention (87%) was most frequently selected by healthcare professionals (n=63). Individuals with asthma were less likely than healthcare professionals (P<0.001) to believe that assessing medication adherence and inhaler technique could improve asthma control. Conclusion: Our data provide strong support for mHealth for asthma self-management, but highlight fundamental differences between the perspectives of patients and healthcare professionals.