Engaging across dimensions of diversity: A cross-national perspective on mHealth tools for managing relapsing remitting and progressive multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Smartphone apps and wearable devices could augment clinical practice by detecting changes in health status for multiple sclerosis (MS). This study sought to investigate potential barriers and facilitators for uptake and sustained use in (i) people with both relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) and progressive MS (PMS) and (ii) across different countries.
METHODS: Twenty four participants with MS took part in four focus groups held in three countries (2 in the UK, 1 in Spain, and 1 in Italy) to investigate potential barriers and facilitators for mHealth technology. A systematic thematic analysis was used to extract themes and sub-themes.
RESULTS: Facilitators and barriers were organised into functional technology-related factors and non-functional health-related and user-related factors. Twelve themes captured all requirements across the three countries for both RRMS and PMS. Key requirements included accommodation for varying physical abilities, providing information and memory aids. Potential negative effects on mood and providing choice and control as part of overcoming practical challenges were identified.
CONCLUSIONS: We took a cross-national perspective and found many similarities between three European countries across people with RRMS and PMS. Future provision should accommodate the key requirements identified to engage people with MS in scalable mHealth interventions.