What do people with asthma want to see in an asthma self-management app? A review of views expressed in online social discussion forums

Self-management improves asthma outcomes. Mobile apps are an option for self-management though engaging users is challenging. The features that patients want in an app are unclear. We aimed to identify ‘wanted’ app features from online forums. We systematically searched (November 2013-January 2017) Google for ‘asthma’ ‘forums’, retrieved posts in which patients discussed app features, and synthesised the perceptions thematically using a framework approach. We included 29 threads from nine forums. 59 patients commented on 33 different features in four categories: self-monitoring, feedback/advice, professional/carer support, reminders. Most patients ‘wanted’ self-monitoring features (logging peak flow, medication and symptoms, personal indoor/outdoor monitoring for triggers) but did not explicitly mention action plans. Fitness tracking, smart device provoked a wide range of responses. The lack of discussion about action plans, suggests today’s apps are limited to self-monitoring rather than self-management. Further research is needed to understand this limitation as well as the adoptive and adherent features which encourage self-management.