Personal Health Record Design Preferences for Minority Diabetic Patients

Abstract

Facilitating treatment adherence (diet, exercise, medication, self-management technology use) among patients with a chronic disease poses a significant challenge to health care providers, particularly among minority populations. Racial and ethnic minorities experience higher rates of chronic disease prevalence and mortality and lower rates of health literacy, which has been widely linked to inferior health care quality. Health Information Technology (HIT) is a critical component of chronic disease treatment and has the ability to support patient self-management through the use of a Personal Health Record (PHR). However, current PHR systems are not designed for the largest and highest-risk segment of the chronic disease population, which are minorities. In an effort to address racial and ethnic disparities in PHRs, this research aims to evaluate minority design preferences in the patient population, develop a design database, and develop several design alternatives for use in future PHR testing and implementation. In this pilot, we focused on one of the highest risk chronic disease populations, African American diabetics. Data was collected from the Howard University Hospital Diabetes Treatment Center, using a previously launched patient portal as a baseline for all research activities. This research has the potential to inform PHR vendor design decision-making and future regulatory guidelines for HIT.