User-Driven Development of a Digital Behavioral Intervention for Chronic Pain: Multimethod Multiphase Study: Multimethod Multiphase Study
Saved in:
| Title: | User-Driven Development of a Digital Behavioral Intervention for Chronic Pain: Multimethod Multiphase Study: Multimethod Multiphase Study |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Taygar, A. S., Bartels, S. L., de la Vega, R., Flink, Ida K., Engman, L., Petersson, S., Johnsson, S. I., Boersma, K., McCracken, L. M., Wicksell, R. K. |
| Source: | JMIR Form Res RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga Universidad de Málaga JMIR Formative Research, Vol 9, p e74064 (2025) |
| Publisher Information: | JMIR Publications, 2025. |
| Publication Year: | 2025 |
| Subject Terms: | Adult, Male, Quality of Life/psychology, Chronic pain, Nursing, Development, end-user involvement, Health Sciences, Humans, Terapia de conducta, development, digital therapeutics, Qualitative Research, Original Paper, Omvårdnad, behavioral intervention, Chronic Pain/therapy psychology, Hälsovetenskaper, Middle Aged, Focus Groups, Dolor crónico, Behavior Therapy/methods, Behavioral intervention, Medicine, Female, End-user involvement, Digital therapeutics, chronic pain, User-Centered Design |
| Description: | Background: Recent research shows that chronic pain affects 27% of the adult population. For many, pain significantly impairs quality of life and everyday functioning. Behavioral interventions have shown utility, but access remains limited. Digital health solutions can increase reach, but there is a need for user-friendly, feasible, and evidence-based digital interventions. Objective: This study aimed to clarify how a digital behavioral intervention for people with chronic pain can be developed through a user-centered approach to address the needs and preferences of the target population. Methods: This study used a multimethod approach involving end users, namely, patients with chronic pain and therapists, to develop prototypes for a digital behavioral intervention across 3 phases. In the preparation phase (phase 0), fictional patient personas (n=3) were created to represent the diversity of the target population while emphasizing transdiagnostic features across people with chronic pain. In the design phase (phase 1), qualitative data from focus groups with patients (n=5; aged 37-51 years; 4/5, 80% women; 2/5, 40% diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome; 3/5, 60% either undiagnosed or uncertain about their diagnosis) and therapists (n=12 licensed psychologists; aged 29-64 years; 9/12, 75% women) were collected to explore end-user preferences for the intervention design and content. In the testing phase (phase 2), the initial full prototype of the digital intervention was piloted with patients (n=11; aged 36-58 years; 9/11, 82% women; with diverse diagnoses, including migraine, arthritis, fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome, hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, herniated disc, chronic fatigue syndrome, and 1/11, 9% cases of undiagnosed pain) and therapists (n=3 licensed psychologists; aged 36-58 y; 3/3, 100% women). The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research was used to structure analyses of end-user feedback. Results: On the basis of end-user input, a 6-week digital behavioral intervention for chronic pain was created. Focus groups highlighted the importance of accessibility and adaptability of the digital intervention, emphasizing the need for tailored content, flexibility (eg, contact with the therapist via asynchronous messaging, telephone, or video calls), and user-friendly design (eg, easy navigation between modules, short microsessions, and visualizations). Average weekly ratings (scale from 1=not at all to 7=very much) by patients during pilot-testing indicated that the intervention was helpful (mean range 4.27-5.45, SD range 1.20-2.20), enjoyable (mean range 3.81-4.81, SD range 1.12-2.08), and understandable (mean range 4.45-6, SD range 1.30-1.86), suggesting initial acceptability and usability of the intervention. Conclusions: The results illustrated the utility of the patient personas when preparing, of the focus groups when designing, and of the end-user feedback when testing this new digital intervention for people with chronic pain. The findings indicated that the intervention is promising while also providing relevant end-user suggestions (eg, video content, text-to-speech function, and add-on modules) to guide further improvements. Afa Insurance |
| Document Type: | Other literature type Article |
| File Description: | application/pdf |
| Language: | English |
| ISSN: | 2561-326X |
| DOI: | 10.2196/74064 |
| Access URL: | https://hdl.handle.net/10630/39273 https://doaj.org/article/076a39dec9b14d85a448fff71735bc3b http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-106779 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-106434 |
| Rights: | URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Formative Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://formative.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included. |
| Accession Number: | edsair.dedup.wf.002..e64ffd01edd3457d0089dbdc839e2489 |
| Database: | OpenAIRE |
Full Text 
Full Text Finder 
Nájsť tento článok vo Web of Science | Abstract: | Background: Recent research shows that chronic pain affects 27% of the adult population. For many, pain significantly impairs quality of life and everyday functioning. Behavioral interventions have shown utility, but access remains limited. Digital health solutions can increase reach, but there is a need for user-friendly, feasible, and evidence-based digital interventions. Objective: This study aimed to clarify how a digital behavioral intervention for people with chronic pain can be developed through a user-centered approach to address the needs and preferences of the target population. Methods: This study used a multimethod approach involving end users, namely, patients with chronic pain and therapists, to develop prototypes for a digital behavioral intervention across 3 phases. In the preparation phase (phase 0), fictional patient personas (n=3) were created to represent the diversity of the target population while emphasizing transdiagnostic features across people with chronic pain. In the design phase (phase 1), qualitative data from focus groups with patients (n=5; aged 37-51 years; 4/5, 80% women; 2/5, 40% diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome; 3/5, 60% either undiagnosed or uncertain about their diagnosis) and therapists (n=12 licensed psychologists; aged 29-64 years; 9/12, 75% women) were collected to explore end-user preferences for the intervention design and content. In the testing phase (phase 2), the initial full prototype of the digital intervention was piloted with patients (n=11; aged 36-58 years; 9/11, 82% women; with diverse diagnoses, including migraine, arthritis, fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome, hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, herniated disc, chronic fatigue syndrome, and 1/11, 9% cases of undiagnosed pain) and therapists (n=3 licensed psychologists; aged 36-58 y; 3/3, 100% women). The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research was used to structure analyses of end-user feedback.<br />Results: On the basis of end-user input, a 6-week digital behavioral intervention for chronic pain was created. Focus groups highlighted the importance of accessibility and adaptability of the digital intervention, emphasizing the need for tailored content, flexibility (eg, contact with the therapist via asynchronous messaging, telephone, or video calls), and user-friendly design (eg, easy navigation between modules, short microsessions, and visualizations). Average weekly ratings (scale from 1=not at all to 7=very much) by patients during pilot-testing indicated that the intervention was helpful (mean range 4.27-5.45, SD range 1.20-2.20), enjoyable (mean range 3.81-4.81, SD range 1.12-2.08), and understandable (mean range 4.45-6, SD range 1.30-1.86), suggesting initial acceptability and usability of the intervention. Conclusions: The results illustrated the utility of the patient personas when preparing, of the focus groups when designing, and of the end-user feedback when testing this new digital intervention for people with chronic pain. The findings indicated that the intervention is promising while also providing relevant end-user suggestions (eg, video content, text-to-speech function, and add-on modules) to guide further improvements.<br />Afa Insurance |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2561326X |
| DOI: | 10.2196/74064 |