IoT eHealth Applications for Chronically Ill Patients: Requirements and Design Principles

Abstract

Chronic diseases are a global burden affecting billions of people, causing millions of deaths per year and excessive costs for healthcare systems. Smart and ubiquitous eHealth applications supporting patients in their everyday life could have a major impact on patients’ quality of life and treatment outcomes. In this paper, we present results of an online survey with 320 participants (188 chronically ill patients, 132 persons related to chronic diseases in various ways, e.g. relatives) in order to gain insights into expectations and concerns of patients with chronic conditions towards eHealth solutions based on Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. 175 of them finished the questionnaire completely. In addition, interviews with 8 physicians on patient-doctor-relationships, therapy processes of patients with chronic health conditions and opportunities for improvements through IoT-based eHealth services were conducted. By thematic analysis of the results, requirements were identified that future applications need to fulfill to achieve acceptance and long term usage. Accordingly, we present six design principles for IoT based eHealth applications for chronically ill patients.