Self-monitoring of health outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have indicated that they experience too little control over their lives and health and that they are currently insufficiently supported by professionals on a personal level. Outcome-oriented self-monitoring could potentially contribute to strengthening control and empowerment. In this project, a digital application for self-monitoring of health outcomes and life goals in patients with RA will be developed. Gamification, which is a set of motivational techniques that uses a game or competitive element in a non-game context, will be added to enhance participation, engagement and loyalty to the application.
In the Netherlands, there are approximately 260.000 patients with RA. In this project, patients with RA will be empowered by putting their life goals, preferences and needs central in self-monitoring. Through self-monitoring on domains that are relevant to them, patients with RA will gain more insight into and influence over their life and health. The knowledge derived from self-monitoring enables a shift in the conversation between patients and health care providers from treatment options based on characteristics of the disease to treatment that enhances participation in daily situations, and to meaningfulness and resilience of the patient. In this way, care can be better tailored to the needs of the individual, making it more personalized.
The digital application will be developed with the use of a user-centered design. This entails composing an inventory of needs and priorities of patients and members of the health care team through focus groups, the design of a proof-of-concept prototype, and an iterative and cyclical process of further development, testing and evaluation of this prototype with end-users. At the end of the project, a minimal viable product will be available for sustainable outcome-oriented self-monitoring of patients with RA, with several options that suit individual needs and capabilities.
