Emergent themes identified in focus groups with people with asthma (n=18) and healthcare professionals (n=5) integrated under core categories
| Emergent themes | |
| Core category 1 | |
| Experience of mHealth | Experience with applications for nutrition analysis, inhaler (medication) monitoring, activity level monitoring, lung function (peak flow) monitoring, mental health, environmental monitoring (e.g. pollution and pollen), asthma diary. |
| Potential uses of mHealth | Replace check-ups, advise when to seek medical attention, monitor asthma over time, collect data to present to healthcare team, alerts to deterioration in asthma control, use as an asthma action plan, provide education materials, instructions on how to manage an asthma attack, a system to call for emergency help, a system to update medical records, a system to record side effects, a system to determine medication effectiveness. |
| Core category 2 | |
| Useful measurements | Environment conditions (e.g. pollution, allergens (pollen), temperature), lung function (e.g. peak flow and measurements of airway inflammation), breathing (e.g. breathing rate and details of how often you cough), heart rate and activity levels, stress level, medication adherence, inhaler technique, diet, quality of sleep, self-reported symptoms. |
| Useful alerts | Medication running low, using their medication too much, they have not taken their inhaler, they are using their inhaler incorrectly, lung function is getting worse, pollution level in their area is high, pollen/allergen levels in their area are high, temperature/humidity in their area is high/low. |
| Core category 3 | |
| Acceptability and barriers | Usability, product design, privacy, time, personalisability, human contact, data usefulness (e.g. reliability, interpretation and subjectivity), cost, mobile compatibility, medication compatibility. |