Design and Development of a Mobile Health (mHealth) Platform for Dementia Prevention in the Prevention of Dementia by Mobile Phone Applications (PRODEMOS) Project

Melanie Hafdi; Esmé Eggink; Marieke P Hoevenaar-Blom; M Patrick Witvliet; Sandrine Andrieu; Linda Barnes; Carol Brayne; Rachael Brooks; Nicola Coley; Jean Georges; Abraham van der Groep; Harm van Marwijk; Mark van der Meijden; Libin Song; Manshu Song; Youxin Wang; Wenzhi Wang; Wei Wang; Anders Wimo; Xiaoyan Ye; Eric P Moll van Charante; Edo Richard

doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.733878

Design and Development of a Mobile Health (mHealth) Platform for Dementia Prevention in the Prevention of Dementia by Mobile Phone Applications (PRODEMOS) Project

Front Neurol. 2021 Dec 16:12:733878. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.733878. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Melanie Hafdi¹, Esmé Eggink², Marieke P Hoevenaar-Blom³, M Patrick Witvliet³, Sandrine Andrieu^{4

5}, Linda Barnes⁶, Carol Brayne⁶, Rachael Brooks⁶, Nicola Coley^{4

5}, Jean Georges⁷, Abraham van der Groep⁸, Harm van Marwijk⁹, Mark van der Meijden⁸, Libin Song¹⁰, Manshu Song^{11

12}, Youxin Wang^{11

12}, Wenzhi Wang¹³, Wei Wang^{11

12

14

15}, Anders Wimo¹⁶, Xiaoyan Ye¹⁰, Eric P Moll van Charante^{2

3}, Edo Richard^{3

17}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Amsterdam University Medical Center (UMC) Location Academic Medical Center (AMC), Amsterdam, Netherlands.
² Department of General Practice, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam University Medical Center (UMC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
³ Department of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam University Medical Center (UMC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
⁴ Center for Epidemiology and Research in Population Health (CERPOP), University of Toulouse-INSERM UMR1295, Toulouse, France.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Toulouse University Hospital, Toulouse, France.
⁶ Cambridge Public Health, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
⁷ Alzheimer Europe, Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
⁸ Philips VitalHealth, Ede, Netherlands.
⁹ Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, United Kingdom.
¹⁰ Fuzhou Comvee Network &Technology Co., Ltd, Fuzhou, China.
¹¹ Beijing Key Laboratory of Clinical Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
¹² School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia.
¹³ Department of Neuroepidemiology, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Beijing, China.
¹⁴ School of Public Health, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Tai'an, China.
¹⁵ Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia.
¹⁶ Division of Neurogeriatrics, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
¹⁷ Department of Neurology, Radboud University Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Abstract

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) has the potential to bring preventive healthcare within reach of populations with limited access to preventive services, by delivering personalized support at low cost. Although numerous mHealth interventions are available, very few have been developed following an evidence-based rationale or have been tested for efficacy. This article describes the systematic development of a coach-supported mHealth application to improve healthy lifestyles for the prevention of dementia and cardiovascular disease in the United Kingdom (UK) and China. Methods: Development of the Prevention of Dementia by Mobile Phone applications (PRODEMOS) platform built upon the experiences with the Healthy Aging Through Internet Counseling in the Elderly (HATICE) eHealth platform. In the conceptualization phase, experiences from the HATICE trial and needs and wishes of the PRODEMOS target population were assessed through semi-structured interviews and focus group sessions. Initial technical development of the platform was based on these findings and took place in consecutive sprint sessions. Finally, during the evaluation and adaptation phase, functionality and usability of the platform were evaluated during pilot studies in UK and China. Results: The PRODEMOS mHealth platform facilitates self-management of a healthy lifestyle by goal setting, progress monitoring, and educational materials on healthy lifestyles. Participants receive remote coaching through a chat functionality. Based on lessons learned from the HATICE study and end-users, we made the intervention easy-to-use and included features to personalize the intervention. Following the pilot studies, in which in total 77 people used the mobile application for 6 weeks, the application was made more intuitive, and we improved its functionalities. Conclusion: Early involvement of end-users in the development process and during evaluation phases improved acceptability of the mHealth intervention. The actual use and usability of the PRODEMOS intervention will be assessed during the ongoing PRODEMOS randomized controlled trial, taking a dual focus on effectiveness and implementation outcomes.

Keywords: behavioral health; cardiovascular disease(s); dementia; design concept; mHealth; prevention.

Copyright © 2021 Hafdi, Eggink, Hoevenaar-Blom, Witvliet, Andrieu, Barnes, Brayne, Brooks, Coley, Georges, van der Groep, van Marwijk, van der Meijden, Song, Song, Wang, Wang, Wang, Wimo, Ye, van Charante and Richard.