Needs Assessment-mHealth Applications for People Aging with Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system. It is characterized by a large number and variety of symptoms, with cognitive changes and mobility limitations being the most significant ones related to disability. A majority of individuals diagnosed with MS experience a major decline in their abilities due to the progression of MS after 5 years post-diagnosis. Following this period, they need to learn how to cope with the functional limitations caused by the disease and how to age with MS due to an early onset of age-related problems. As a result, they have to manage the effects of the condition on their lives every day. Self-management can help mitigate the symptoms associated with MS. Mobile health (mHealth) apps provide potential support for self-management of the condition as they represent robust technologies that have potential to include all the interventions proven to be useful to manage multiple health problems. However, none of the mobile applications on the market for people with MS present the holistic and integrative app that provides their users with a variety of the valuable functional features for the self-management of their health. Furthermore, there is a lack of literature on needs and concerns of individuals aging with MS to inform the design of the mobile technologies and related functional features of the MS-specific mobile apps. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a qualitative study with individuals aging with MS, to (1) understand their health and wellness self-management needs, and (2) recognize the opportunities to meet those needs through mobile technologies and specific functional features. A systematic review of the functional features in MS-specific mobile applications is presented with the purpose to understand the current state of the utility of mobile apps and to identify two applications with the most versatile functionality.