Rising concern over the poor state of
chronic disease management
led to the user-informed design and development of a home tele-monitoring system. Focus groups with patients and primary care providers guided the research
team towards a design that would accommodate the workflow and concerns of the healthcare providers and the low use and comfort with technology found among the patient population. The system was trialed in a before-and-after pilot study of 34 patients with
diabetes and
hypertension. Findings demonstrate a significant improvement in systolic and
diastolic blood pressure. An RCT beginning in 2007 is being conducted to confirm these findings. It is hypothesized that this user-centred approach, utilizing focus groups, iterative design and human factors methods of evaluation, will lead to the next-generation of home tele-monitoring applications that are more intuitive, less cumbersome, and ultimately bring about greater patient compliance and better physician management.
