The MONARCA self-assessment system

Abstract

An increasing number of persuasive personal healthcare monitoring systems are being researched, designed and tested. However, most of these systems have targeted somatic diseases and few have targeted mental illness. This paper describes the MONARCA system; a persuasive personal monitoring system for bipolar patients based on an Android mobile phone. The paper describes the user-centered design process behind the system, the user experience, and the technical implementation. This system is one of the first examples of the use of mobile monitoring to support the treatment of mental illness, and we discuss lessons learned and how others can use our experience in the design of such systems for the treatment of this important, yet challenging, patient group.