Requirements elicitation for a health monitoring mobile application: a participatory design approach with clinicians and researchers

Participatory methods have been introduced in healthcare to increase the adoption and acceptance of digital solutions for disease management and health promotion. However, there is not much evidence-based knowledge on how to integrate participatory methods into cohort studies effectively and efficiently. This study reports the results of a health monitoring application requirements elicitation by using a participatory design approach with clinicians and researchers.An electronic survey containing open-ended questions was developed ad hoc in the research group to address requirements and use(r) purposes of the application. Minor amendments were made after piloting the survey with two researchers. A link to the survey was distributed to clinicians and researchers affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at University of Oulu. All in all, 28 responses were received between April and June 2024. The responses have been analysed with deductive content analysis.The analysis identified 25 themes under the four major themes relating to functional, content and ethical requirements of the application and the use(r) purposes of the application. The contents of the application should consider the physical, mental, social and environmental aspects to address the monitoring of holistic wellbeing. The application was preferred to contain diverse functionalities to track and monitor the user’s health in an automated manner and through user self-reporting. Extensive measures should be made prior and during the application usage to consider ethical requirements of the application. Purposes of use have been identified to include research, health promotion, personalised health management, diagnostics and policy and decision-making aid.The mobile application should be developed to entail a comprehensive outlook on the individual’s current health status by focusing on automated functions, straightforward interface and ease of use to induce attraction. In the future, participatory design activities will be broadened by involving patient and public representatives to the next steps of mobile application development and implementation to further increase the inclusivity and relevance of the application.