The Development of Heart Failure Electronic-Message Driven Tips to Support Self-Management: Co-Design Case Study

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Digital Health
• Patient Education

Background:

• Heart failure (HF) presents significant morbidity, mortality, and healthcare utilization challenges.
• Effective patient education and self-management are crucial for optimizing outcomes in HF.
• Digital health tools, including SMS text messaging and smartphone applications, offer innovative approaches to patient education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To collaborate with clinicians and individuals with HF experience to determine priority educational topics.
• To inform the development and delivery of electronic message-driven tips (e-TIPS) for enhanced HF self-management.
• To establish a foundation for a bank of e-TIPS tailored to patient needs.

Main Methods:

• A co-design approach involving 3 focus groups with cardiovascular clinicians, HF patients, and caregivers.
• Stage 1: Exploratory qualitative study to identify unmet educational needs in HF (previously reported).
• Stage 2: Co-design feedback session to pinpoint educational topic areas and delivery strategies for e-TIPS.

Main Results:

• Five critical considerations for e-TIPS delivery were identified: timing, clarity, conciseness, feedback mechanisms, and frequency.
• Five key HF educational topic areas were prioritized: cardiovascular risk reduction, self-management, nutrition, sleep hygiene, and mental health.
• This co-design process yielded essential insights for creating effective e-TIPS.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a robust foundation for developing a comprehensive bank of e-TIPS for heart failure self-management.
• Future research will evaluate the usability of these e-TIPS through the BANDAIDS study, utilizing personalized SMS text messages.
• This work supports the integration of digital health interventions to improve HF patient care and outcomes.