Personal health information management: consumers' perspectives

Area of Science:

• Consumer Health Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Health Information Management

Background:

• Personal health information management (PHIM) involves consumers actively engaging with their health data.
• Existing health technologies may not fully support the diverse PHIM needs of consumers.
• Understanding consumer perspectives is crucial for designing effective health information tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate personal health information management (PHIM) activities undertaken by health consumers.
• To explore the design of new technologies that can support these PHIM activities.
• To identify key design principles for developing user-centered PHIM tools.

Main Methods:

• Employed a focus group methodology to gather insights from health consumers.
• Utilized participatory design approaches in collaboration with consumers to co-design technology.
• Identified and analyzed prominent PHIM activities and user-defined design principles.

Main Results:

• Identified core PHIM activities including health monitoring, assessment, decision-making, planning, and action.
• Consumers emphasized design principles such as individual control, data sharing, integration, security, and flexibility.
• Participatory design yielded insights into user requirements for supportive PHIM technology.

Conclusions:

• Health consumers actively manage their personal health information through various activities.
• User-centered design principles are essential for creating effective PHIM tools.
• Further development of consumer health informatics requires a deep understanding of PHIM needs.