title: Interactive health communication applications for chronic disease: patient and carer perspectives.
abstract: Interactive health communication applications (IHCAs) may be particularly useful to patients and carers managing chronic disease. We have run eight focus groups with patients and two with carers involving a total of 40 participants. The focus groups were designed to seek patients' and carers' requirements of IHCAs and to identify the criteria they would use to assess them. Analysis revealed that many participants saw the value and potential of IHCAs. Even those with modest previous computer experience could use them with little tuition. The findings from this study have policy implications for the development of applications to maximize the potential benefit of IHCAs to patients and carers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences, Royal Free and University College Medical School, University College London, UK. c.kerr@pcps.ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gore
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nazareth
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001292:Attitude to Computers; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D003195:Computer Communication Networks; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged