Home // International Journal On Advances in Life Sciences, volume 10, numbers 3 and 4, 2018 // View article
Authors:
Ljilja Ruzic
Harshal Mahajan
Jon Sanford
Keywords: aging; mHealth; multiple sclerosis; universal design.
Abstract:
A majority of individuals diagnosed with MS experience major decline in their abilities due to the progression of MS, five years post-diagnosis and after age 40. Following this period, they need to learn how to cope with the functional limitations and disabilities caused by the condition and how to age with MS due to an early onset of age-related problems. In addition to the signs of early aging caused by MS symptoms and consequent impairments, these individuals experience increased disability due to the physical effects of aging and comorbidities. 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. mHealth applications offer potential holistic support for self-management of the condition as they represent more robust technologies that have potential to include all the interventions proven to be useful to manage multiple health problems. This research paper describes the evaluation of the mHealth app, MS Assistant, an evidence-based app that provides the daily support and self-management of the condition to individuals aging with MS, which was developed based on the Universal Design Mobile Interface Guidelines, UDMIG v.2.1. mHealth application was evaluated by the expert reviewers. Moreover, the paper presents an app refinement based on the suggestions of the experts who tested the effectiveness of the app and its design features and provided possible recommendations for its redesign.
Pages: 156 to 168
Copyright: Copyright (c) to authors, 2018. Used with permission.
Publication date: December 30, 2018
Published in: journal
ISSN: 1942-2660