MyAirCoach: Designing a mobile application for the education of patients regarding asthma disease

Digital health holds the promise to elevate many fundamental burdens from the traditional healthcare system through the utilization of modern technologies and the integration of a plethora of data resources. On one hand, mobile technologies are in the center of this transformation as they are forming the basis for the objective assessment of a variety of health parameters in the real life environment and for the increased and more effective involvement of patients in the healthcare process. On the other hand, chronic diseases in general and asthma in particular are expected to be drastically benefited from mobile technologies as they depend greatly on the adherence of patients to their prescribed treatment, and they require a continuous monitoring of health indicators. The MyAirCoach project is aiming to contribute in bridging this gap between the available technologies and the need for new asthma management approaches, through the development of novel solutions that will support patients and healthcare professionals. Efficient patient education is considered a fundamental component in this process as it holds the promise to positively affect all the above aspects of asthma self-management. In this direction the MyAirCoach mobile application was designed to include an education framework that aims to increase the awareness of patients about the disease of asthma and help them improve their technique of inhaler use through illustrative presentations and interactive multiple choice questions. The current paper outlines the development process and selected structure of this environment, and takes a first step towards its validation through the first round of feedback collected from the MyAirCoach Advisory Patient Forum.