An mHealth Assistive System “MyLung” to Empower Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Design Science Research

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) comprises a group of progressive diseases that deteriorate lung functions. When patients cannot breathe, nothing else in their lives matter. Breathlessness has negative implications on patients’ lives, which leads to physical and psychological limitations. Moreover, the lack of relevant and updated information about the causes and consequences of the disease can exacerbate the problems of health literacy, information accessibility, and medical adherence. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to design an innovative mobile health (mHealth) app system called “MyLung” that provides complete solutions in order to increase self-awareness and promote better self-care management. This system, an information technology artifact, includes three novel integrative modules: education, risk reduction, and monitoring. METHODS: The utility and effectiveness of the assistive mobile-based technology were evaluated using a mixed-methods approach. The study combined quantitative and qualitative research methods to thoroughly understand how the assistive mobile-based technology can influence patients’ behavioral intention to change their lifestyle. Thirty patients were categorized into two groups (intervention group and control group). RESULTS: The results from the quantitative analysis led to four follow-up interviews in the qualitative study. The results of the quantitative study provided significant evidence to show that the design of MyLung leads to a change in the awareness level, self-efficacy, and behavioral intention for patients with COPD. The t tests revealed a significant difference before and after using the mobile-based app with regard to the awareness level (mean 3.28 vs 4.56; t(10)=6.062; P<.001), self-efficacy (mean 3.11 vs 5.56; t(10)=2.96; P=.01), and behavioral intention (mean 2.91 vs 4.55; t(10)=3.212; P=.009). Independent sample t tests revealed significant differences between the intervention group and the control group in terms of the awareness level (mean 4.56 vs 3.31; t(19)=4.80; P<.001) and self-efficacy (mean 5.56 vs 3.66; t(19)=2.8; P<.01). Integration of findings from quantitative and qualitative studies reveled the impact of the design in a comprehensive manner. These inferences are referred to as “meta-inferences” in this study. CONCLUSIONS: We designed an innovative assistive mobile-based technology to empower patients with COPD, which helped increase awareness and engage patients in self-care management activities. The assistive technology aims to inform patients about the risk factors of COPD and to improve access to relevant information. Meta-inferences that emerge from the research outputs contribute to research into chronic management information systems by helping us gain a more complete understanding of the potential impacts of this proposed mobile-based design on patients with chronic disease.