title: Developing requirements for a mobile app to support citizens in dealing with ticks and tick bites via end-user profiling.
abstract: Tick bites and tick-borne infections are an increasingly large problem. There is a wide range of precautions that citizens can take, but compliance is low. Mobile technology can offer a solution here, as they allow citizens to access health information in context. In this article, we discuss the development of requirements for a mobile app to support citizens in dealing with ticks and tick bites. First, we identified organizational stakeholders based on relevant protocols, and primary end-users via a systematic risk determination procedure. Then, we profiled end-users based on 25 in-depth interviews. We consulted organizational stakeholders via a focus group. The mobile app should primarily motivate citizens to check themselves for tick bites after visiting a risk area. The app should also include a tick radar, alerts to remind people to check for tick bites, and the possibility to document tick bites. Our experiences underline the necessity of thoroughly investigating the designated end-users and their context of use in order to tailor preventive health advice, and we demonstrate how this can be done. Finally, this case shows the need to create persuasive health technology in order to maximize citizen compliance.
authors.affiliation: University of Twente, The Netherlands; National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands l.vanvelsen@rrd.nl.
authors.forename: Lex
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van Velsen
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Desirée J M A
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Beaujean
authors.affiliation: University of Twente, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jobke
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wentzel
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jim E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Van Steenbergen
authors.affiliation: University of Twente, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Julia E W C
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: van Gemert-Pijnen
mesh_terms: D054626:Consumer Health Information; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D066275:Health Information Exchange; D006801:Humans; D063731:Mobile Applications; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D064927:Tick Bites / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D017282:Tick-Borne Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Lyme borreliosis; design; infection prevention; mobile health technology; requirements; ticks