Conceptual design and iterative development of a mHealth app by clinicians, patients and their families

Heart failure self-management can be challenging but appropriately designed, user-centred mobile health (mHealth) innovations may help. We have built a consumer mHealth application which we plan to implement as an adjunct to existing specialist multidisciplinary heart failure care at our health service. We have the double aim to meet the needs of patients and ensure clinical relevance in order to be recommended by clinicians. This paper reports the participatory, user-centred co-design process of the conceptual design and iterative development of the application. Two nurse-led participatory design workshops were conducted with six clinicians and a patient, which determined user-experience opinions, key features and priority functions. The iterative development phase encompassed two application wireframe feedback cycles with seven clinicians, three patients and a family member. Workshops and wireframe feedback activities took place on the hospital campus predominantly using resources available to clinicians. Software build was outsourced and was followed by the design team reaching consensus with features and functions of the app. Further development and evaluation of flexible participatory, user-centred methods for use by clinicians to facilitate co-design with consumers will advance consumer digital health strategies.