mHealth in Mental Health: how to efficiently and scientifically create an ambulatory biofeedback e-coaching app for patients with borderline personality disorder

Abstract

mHealth applications aim to 'coach' users in achieving a better life. However, many of these e-coaches are not based on sound background knowledge of those in need of support. One such group is patients with a borderline personality disorder (BPD). Patients with BPD experience great difficulties in regulating their emotions, in part due to an inability to recognise (changes in) emotions. Using a modified UXD-framework, we investigated the need amongst BPD-patients and therapists for an ambulatory biofeedback e-coaching app that supports patients in learning to better recognise changes in their arousal level. This study adds: 1) a 'design science' approach to developing mHealth applications; 2) the insight that needs of both groups did converge to a degree, but mental models differed fundamentally; 3) a set of requirements for a physiologically based real-time biofeedback tool for psychiatric patients; 4) personas that can form the basis for other research within this group.