Use of mHealth by Patients with Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: Cross-Sectional Survey (Preprint)

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are changing the traditional health care model and redefining personalized health. ICTs offer effective communication and real-time monitoring of patients, as well as providing additional data to support clinical decision-making, improving the quality of care and contributing the empowerment of patients. However, evidence about the use of ICTs and digital preferences of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID) patients is scarce.

The aim of this study is to describe the degree of use of ICTs in patients with IMID (including rheumatic diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases and psoriasis), identify their needs, and analyze their interest in the use of mobile applications (apps) as a tool for better management of their disease.

A questionnaire was drawn up by a multidisciplinary team including pharmacists, rheumatologists, gastroenterologists, dermatologists, and nurses with experience of ICTs applied to the field of IMID. The survey included 27 questions organized into 3 blocks: I) socio-demographic characteristics, II) ICTs usage for health-related information, and III) patients’ expectations about mHealth. A paper copy of the questionnaire was handed to patients.

A total of 472 questionnaires were analyzed. The mean age of patients was 50.5 years [IC95% 40.0-59.8]. Of all participants, 251/472 (53.2%) were women and 211/472 (44.7%) had a university education. Overall, 250/472 (52.9%) of patients were diagnosed with a rheumatologic disease, 186/472 (39.4%) with inflammatory bowel disease, and 58/472 (12.3%) with psoriasis. The state of health was considered good by 215/472 (45.6%) of patients. Patients were interested in staying informed about health issues in 86.9% (410/427) of cases and sought health-related information mainly from internet and healthcare professionals (70.8% and 67.4%, respectively). Overall, 10.4% of patients found it easy understand the internet health information but 13.6% (64/472) did not trust the information found. Of all patients, 202/472 (42.8%) had a health app, and 199/472 (42.2%) had found it for their will. Patients would like a health app to help mainly to manage appointments (281/472, 59.5%), to obtain information about their diseases and treatments (274/472, 58.1%) and to get in contact with health professionals (250/472, 53.0%). Overall, 425/472 (90.0%) of patients reported they would use an app to manage their IMID if their health professional recommended it and 274/472 (58.0%) patients would pay or probably be willing to pay for it.

IMID patients were very interested in finding health-related information via ICTs, especially using smartphones and apps recommended by health professionals. Appointment management, advice on disease and treatment management, and personalized communication with health professionals were the most interesting app features identified. Health professionals should play an essential role in recommending and validating these tools to ensure they are of high-quality standards.