Mobile Health Application for Seizure Management: A Human-Systems Integration Approach

Abstract

Objective The study aims to develop a mHealth application for seizure management based on the human system integration (HSI) approach. Background Unmet healthcare needs among people with epilepsy continue to exist despite the advancement in healthcare technology. Current seizure management methods are found to be ineffective. Therefore, a more efficient strategy such as mHealth technology is necessary to aid seizure management. Method The needs identification phase involved identifying the user requirements by interviewing 10 stakeholders and conducting thematic analysis and needs interpretation technique. In the solution identification phase, the system requirements were derived using various human-centered design and systems engineering approaches and were evaluated through quality function deployment to determine design targets. For the design and evaluation phase, the design targets were reflected in the app through the iterative prototyping process, and the interface and functional design were evaluated by seven human factors and ergonomics experts and four stakeholders, respectively. Results Three primary needs and ten user requirements were derived from the needs identification phase. Ten out of fifteen system requirements were selected as design targets to be included in the final prototype. Results of the evaluation showed that the interface design of the proposed app showed superior usability compared to a competitor app and that the app functions were beneficial for the stakeholders. Conclusion The mHealth app designed through the HSI framework showed good potential in addressing the main issues in seizure management. Application The mHealth app design methodology based on the HSI approach can be applied to the design of small-scale systems in various domains.

User involvement in the design and development of medical devices in Epilepsy: a systematic review

“…For example, a scoping method such as exploratory interviews 65 or a focus group 51 were used to specify the needs and requirements of the users with an evaluative method such as a usability test 65 or survey 51 then used respectively at a later stage to determine whether these have been met.…”

Improving Healthcare Practice Through the Implementation of Human Factors and Ergonomics Principles

“…Lazaro and colleagues (Lazaro et al, 2022) document the design and evaluation of a mobile health application for seizure management. The paper documents a case study that illustrates the importance of using user-centered design methods to improve usability of digital tools.…”