There are many instances of ‘buggy’ health apps. However, limited regulation in the technology marketplace enables insufficiently tested self-monitoring devices to be launched, with potential for health consumers to ill-advisedly change their self-care regimens. Health consumers are increasingly engaging with mobile health applications (‘apps’) for self-monitoring. For consumers with reasonable health literacy, self-monitoring offers greater autonomy, aiming to reduce pressure on health resources.ĭespite being a relatively new phenomenon, self-monitoring has experienced notable developments in its practical immersion into one’s lifestyle.
shortness of breath), manual blood pressure readings, and self-maintained electronic databases of blood glucose measurements in diabetes management. Self-monitoring can be conducted by consumers on various levels examples are self-awareness of symptoms (e.g.
One commonality is that self-care requires self-monitoring for a consumer to pursue daily decisions to maintain functionality. Due to differences between chronic conditions, there is no agreed definition of self-care. In order for self-care of a chronic condition to be sustained, self-management techniques need to be integrated into one’s life. The increasing aging population will benefit from 21 st Century self-care techniques, easing burden on healthcare by enabling self-monitoring at home, office or other location. Data requests may be sent to the corresponding author.įunding: The authors have no support or funding to report.Ĭompeting interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Due to the qualitative nature of these data, the interview transcripts contain personal information that potentially identifies participants and would breach participant confidentiality if made publicly available.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.ĭata Availability: Limited data can be made available to researchers who meet the criteria for access to confidential data. Received: JanuAccepted: Published: May 23, 2016Ĭopyright: © 2016 Anderson et al. van Ooijen, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, NETHERLANDS Citation: Anderson K, Burford O, Emmerton L (2016) Mobile Health Apps to Facilitate Self-Care: A Qualitative Study of User Experiences.