Doyle, Julie and Murphy, Emma and Gavin, Shane and Pascale, Alessandra and Deparis, Stéphane and Tommasi, Pierpaolo and Smith, Suzanne and Hannigan, Caoimhe and Sillevis Smitt, Myriam and van Leeuwen, Cora and Lastra, Julia and Galvin, Mary and McAleer, Patricia and Tompkins, Lorraine and Jacobs, An and M Marques, Marta and Medina Maestro, Jaime and Boyle, Gordon and Dinsmore, John (2021) A Digital Platform to Support Self-management of Multiple Chronic Conditions (ProACT): Findings in Relation to Engagement During a One-Year Proof-of-Concept Trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23 (12). e22672. ISSN 1438-8871

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Abstract

Background: Populations globally are ageing, resulting in higher incidence rates of chronic diseases. Digital health platforms, designed to support those with chronic conditions to self-manage at home, offer a promising solution to help people monitor their conditions and lifestyle, maintain good health, and reduce unscheduled clinical visits. However, despite high prevalence rates of multimorbidity or multiple chronic conditions, most platforms tend to focus on a single disease. A further challenge is that despite the importance of users actively engaging with such systems, little research has explored engagement. Objective: The objectives of this study are to design and develop a digital health platform, ProACT, for facilitating older adults self-managing multimorbidity, with support from their care network, and evaluate end user engagement and experiences with this platform through a 12-month trial. Methods: The ProACT digital health platform is presented in this paper. The platform was evaluated in a year-long proof-of-concept action research trial with 120 older persons with multimorbidity in Ireland and Belgium. Alongside the technology, participants had access to a clinical triage service responding to symptom alerts and a technical helpdesk. Interactions with the platform during the trial were logged to determine engagement. Semi structured interviews were conducted with participants and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis, whereas usability and user burden were examined using validated questionnaires. Results: This paper presents the ProACT platform and its components, along with findings on engagement with the platform and its usability. Of the 120 participants who participated, 24 (20%) withdrew before the end of the study, whereas 3 (2.5%) died. The remaining 93 participants actively used the platform until the end of the trial, on average, taking 2 or 3 health readings daily over the course of the trial in Ireland and Belgium, respectively. The participants reported ProACT to be usable and of low burden.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	digital health; aging; multimorbidity; chronic disease; self-management; integrated care; longitudinal study; engagement; usability; mobile phone;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Design Innovation
Item ID:	18594
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.2196/22672
Depositing User:	Mary Galvin
Date Deposited:	30 May 2024 08:20
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Medical Internet Research
Publisher:	Gunther Eysenbach MD MPH, Associate Professor
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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