TY - JOUR
T1 - Developing an mHealth App for Empowering Cancer Survivors with Disabilities
T2 - Co-design Study
AU - Adler, Rachel F.
AU - Morales, Paulina
AU - Sotelo, Jocelyn
AU - Magasi, Susan
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (U54CA202995, U54202997, and U54CA203000). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Additional support was provided by Northeastern Illinois University’s Student Center for Science Engagement, Committee on Organized Research, and College of Business and Technology; the US Department of Education Title III (P031C160209); and the Summer Research Opportunities Program of the University of Illinois Chicago. The authors would also like to acknowledge contributions from the following team members: David Victorson, Tamara Hamlish, Cassandra Winters, Beija Teolis, Lauren Dimayuga, Bruriah Horowitz, Hilary Marshall, Christina Sauer, John Abbate, Christine Adley, Linda Cassady, Peter Citro, and Deborah Friedman.
Publisher Copyright:
©Rachel F Adler, Paulina Morales, Jocelyn Sotelo, Susan Magasi.
PY - 2022/7/1
Y1 - 2022/7/1
N2 - Background: The transition from active treatment to long-term cancer survivorship leaves the needs of many cancer survivors unaddressed as they struggle with physical, cognitive, psychological, and social consequences of cancer and its treatment. The lack of guidance after treatment has forced cancer survivors to manage long-term effects on their own, which has an impact on their overall health, quality of life, and social participation. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions can be used to promote self-management and evidence-informed education. Objective: This study aims to design an mHealth app for cancer survivors with disabilities that will offer interventions to improve their quality of life and increase their self-efficacy to manage cancer as a chronic condition. Methods: We organized 3 co-design workshops with cancer survivors (n=5). These workshops included persona development based on data from 25 interviews with cancer survivors with disabilities; prototype ideation, where we sketched ideas for the prototype; and prototype development, where participants critiqued, and suggested improvements for, the wireframes. Results: These workshops helped us to define the challenges that cancer survivors with disabilities face as well as important considerations when designing an mHealth app for cancer survivors with disabilities, such as the need for including flexibility, engagement, socialization, and a minimalistic design. We also outline guidelines for other researchers to follow when planning their own co-design workshops, which include allowing more time for discussion among participants, having small participant groups, keeping workshops engaging and inclusive, and letting participants dream big. Conclusions: Using a co-design process aided us in developing a prototype of an mHealth app for cancer survivors with disabilities as well as a list of guidelines that other researchers can use to develop their own co-design workshops and design their app. Furthermore, working together with cancer survivors ensured that the design team had a deeper sense of empathy toward the target users and kept the focus on our ultimate goal: creating something that cancer survivors would want to use and benefit from. Future work will include usability testing of a high-fidelity prototype based on the results of these workshops.
AB - Background: The transition from active treatment to long-term cancer survivorship leaves the needs of many cancer survivors unaddressed as they struggle with physical, cognitive, psychological, and social consequences of cancer and its treatment. The lack of guidance after treatment has forced cancer survivors to manage long-term effects on their own, which has an impact on their overall health, quality of life, and social participation. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions can be used to promote self-management and evidence-informed education. Objective: This study aims to design an mHealth app for cancer survivors with disabilities that will offer interventions to improve their quality of life and increase their self-efficacy to manage cancer as a chronic condition. Methods: We organized 3 co-design workshops with cancer survivors (n=5). These workshops included persona development based on data from 25 interviews with cancer survivors with disabilities; prototype ideation, where we sketched ideas for the prototype; and prototype development, where participants critiqued, and suggested improvements for, the wireframes. Results: These workshops helped us to define the challenges that cancer survivors with disabilities face as well as important considerations when designing an mHealth app for cancer survivors with disabilities, such as the need for including flexibility, engagement, socialization, and a minimalistic design. We also outline guidelines for other researchers to follow when planning their own co-design workshops, which include allowing more time for discussion among participants, having small participant groups, keeping workshops engaging and inclusive, and letting participants dream big. Conclusions: Using a co-design process aided us in developing a prototype of an mHealth app for cancer survivors with disabilities as well as a list of guidelines that other researchers can use to develop their own co-design workshops and design their app. Furthermore, working together with cancer survivors ensured that the design team had a deeper sense of empathy toward the target users and kept the focus on our ultimate goal: creating something that cancer survivors would want to use and benefit from. Future work will include usability testing of a high-fidelity prototype based on the results of these workshops.
KW - cancer survivors
KW - co-design
KW - disabilities
KW - mHealth
KW - mobile health
KW - user-centered design
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85136875442&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2196/37706
DO - 10.2196/37706
M3 - Article
C2 - 35881439
AN - SCOPUS:85136875442
SN - 2561-326X
VL - 6
JO - JMIR Formative Research
JF - JMIR Formative Research
IS - 7
M1 - e37706
ER -