title: A novel multimodal tool for telemonitoring patients with COPD.
abstract: Introduction: Among factors that underlie high rates of non-participation reported in telehealth interventions are the low older users' acceptance of information technologies and the low levels of non-compliance with therapy of chronic patients. Therefore, inclusion of potential users into design stages of assistive technologies is challenging. In this paper, the design, implementation and evaluation of a multimodal mobile application for telemonitoring chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is presented. The goal of the study was to assess the usability and feasibility of the designed tool. Methods: An iterative user-centered design methodology was applied to implement a prototype that satisfied users' requirements. Feasibility (compliance, COPD knowledge and satisfaction) of the application was assessed in a 6-month field trial with COPD patients. Results: A usable, effective and efficient prototype was released after the development process. A high compliance (86.1%) and an increasing in COPD knowledge were achieved in the field trial. Conclusions: The findings reveal the importance of integrating usability in the design development processes to improve adherence to routine tasks and to reduce the high rates of non-participation reported in recent evaluation studies of telehealth interventions. The presented tool can help to recognize early symptoms of deterioration and to support patients in COPD self-management.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering and Telemedicine Lab, University of Cádiz , Cádiz , Spain and.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Morillo
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Crespo
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: León
authors.forename: Luis F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Crespo Foix
keywords: COPD; home monitoring; multimodal; telemonitoring; usability