Shivani Goyal*, Healthcare Human Factors, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada Diane De Sousa, Healthcare Human Factors, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada Cassie Mcdaniel*, Healthcare Human Factors, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada Stephanie So, Personal Health Information Technology, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada Joseph Cafazzo*, Healthcare Human Factors, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada Wayne Ho*, Healthcare Human Factors, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada Ahmad Zbib, Heart & Stroke Foundation, Toronto, Canada Track: Practice Presentation Topic: Mobile & Tablet Health Applications Presentation Type: Poster presentation Submission Type: Single Presentation Last modified: 2012-09-12

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Background: Heart disease and stroke remain the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, causing almost 30% of all deaths. The majority of the world’s adult population have at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease, such as obesity, diabetes, smoking, alcohol, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, and cholesterol. As the population ages and is increasingly affected by these risk factors, more individuals will develop heart disease and stroke. However, in a large number of these cases, risk factors can be addressed and prevented by targeting unhealthy behaviours. Although online interventions currently exist, they can be too clinically-focused and inaccessible for consumers who are not heart-health conscious.

Objective: To help consumers address their heart and stroke risk factors, the project team has begun to develop a mobile application that empowers users to easily and effectively manage their heart health. The team is transforming an existing risk assessment and e-mail support system into an engaging and interactive tool that suggests daily activities, provides resources and encouragement, and tailors content to individual needs.

Methods: A multidisciplinary, interwoven project team with expertise in human factors engineering, public health, clinical care, health informatics, visual design, content writing, and application development collaborated to design the mobile application. To ensure that features were useful and intuitive for end users, the team employed a user-centered design methodology, including analysis, design, and evaluation. The analysis findings from literature and user surveys were used to develop a mobile-based interactive prototype, which was then evaluated through usability testing with end users. In total, the team conducted three iterations of prototype design and usability testing, eventually integrating visual design elements, language mood and tone, and written content to keep consumers engaged.

Results: The findings from the analysis phase highlighted features to instill behaviour change, including simple and personalized advice, tracking of progress, reminders, and social support. These aspects were incorporated into the application design. The updated interactive risk assessment allows users to simply and clearly see the consequences of their own lifestyle on heart and stroke risk factors. Based on the individual’s risk assessment results, the tool offers daily challenges aimed at educating and embedding healthy lifestyle behaviours into users’ lives. As daily challenges are completed, the application records progress and awards users upon reaching milestones. The application also features a social community, in which users can share accomplishments and ask others for advice. Although the prototype is still in the process of further design and evaluation, preliminary user feedback from usability testing has been positive, and has provided insight into further design improvements.

Conclusions: The prototype will be used to develop and implement a mobile application to be made available for consumers. The mobile application has the capacity to empower users to improve their own cardiovascular health by offering them a captivating, practical, and educational tool. In addition, the tool has the potential to contribute to a consumer-health mobile application design standard, by involving a multidisciplinary team and employing user-centered design methodologies to assure effectiveness, intuitiveness, and engagement by consumers.