Eliciting Information Needs of Child Patients: Adapting the Kano Model to the Design of mHealth Applications.

BACKGROUND

Health care services are increasingly being digitized, but extant literature shows that digital technologies and applications are often developed without careful consideration of user needs. Research is needed to identify and investigate best-in-class methods to support user-centered design of mHealth applications.

OBJECTIVES

The article investigates how the Kano model can be adapted and used for the purpose of eliciting child patients' information needs during the design phase of mHealth application development. The aim is to demonstrate its applicability for collecting and analyzing patient-centered data that are key to designing technology-supported solutions for health management.

METHODS

The article is based on a mixed-methods case study, which includes interviews with 21 patients aged 6 to 18. Structured interviews are analyzed based on prescriptions of the Kano model. Semi-structured interviews about child patients' information needs are analyzed thematically.

RESULTS

The results demonstrate several improvements to the Kano model that take into account the difficulties of effectively communicating with child patients. The combination of two types of interviews offers unique insights into the , , and of patients' needs. Adaptation of the Kano model, simplification of response options, and participation of child patients' parents in interviews facilitate data collection.

CONCLUSION

The article shows how the Kano model can be adapted to provide an effective means of eliciting child patients' needs. Adapting the model by combining structured and semi-structured interviews makes it a powerful tool in designing mHealth applications.