Designing and production a smartphone-based patient education application for chronic kidney disease (mobile)

Background and aims: Chronic kidney disease )CKD) is a progressive condition that affects،about ۱۰% of the general population worldwide, amounting to، ۸۰۰ million individuals. CKD ismore prevalent in older individuals, women, racial minorities, and in people experiencing diabetesmellitus and hypertension and represents an especially enormous burden in low- and low-middle-income countries. It has emerged as one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, especiallyover the past ۲ decades. Considering the prevalence of CKD and the increasing trend ofthe disease and the high mortality rate due to the disease, education can play an important role inpreventing end-stage CKD ; which reduces the economic and social burden of the disease on thehealth system and patients.Considering the great influence of the media on the society, the purpose of this application was toprovide comprehensive, simple and attractive important material for CKD patients.Method: The application is designed by an online application developer for Android and IOS.Project implementation process:Designing a mind map to determine the different parts of the application under supervision of anephrologist.Collecting content and materials based on the up-to-date. (https://www.uptodate.com)Translation of the contents and restoration in simple language for better understanding of thecontentsReview and correction of data by nephrologist.Designing graphic images related to each section for easier understanding of the content.Making the template and designing different parts of the application and then doing the internalgraphic design of the application.Uploading content in the application.Arrangement of graphic images in the application.Production and editing of learning videos for the most important contents and loading in the application.Results: The user- friendly application is designed for Android and IOS, and the different partsof the application include:Chronic renal failure (definition, symptoms and complications, evaluation and diagnosis, riskfactors and treatment)Trainings (includes ۳ main sections of exercise, nutrition and vaccination)Dialysis (dialysis overview, dialysis initiation time, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis sections)Kidney transplant Epidemiology of CKDFrequently Asked QuestionsThis mobile app also includes a mechanism that allows patients to contact with a nephrologistvia direct message (@kidney_health Instagram page) to facilitate and support, education, or evenvirtual clinic visits.Conclusion: This CKD app, provide useful educational material on all aspect of CKD, for Patientswith CKD as well as general population. We believe that a mobile app can improve CKDself-management by facilitating patient and their family education and enabling self-care activitiesincluding treatment adherence.

کلیدواژه ها:

chronic kidney disease ، mHealth ، mobile apps ، smartphone ، digital health