Abstract
Persons living with HIV (PLWH) continuously experience symptom burdens. Their symptom prevalence and severity are also quite different. Mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) offer exceptional opportunities for using personalized interventions when and where PLWH are needed. This study aimed to demonstrate the development process of the symptom management (SM) app and the structure and content of it. Our research team systematically searched for evidence-based resources and summarized up-to-date evidence for symptom management and health education. Our multidisciplinary research team that included physicians, nurses, software engineers, and nursing professors, evaluated the structure and content of the drafted app. Both quantitative data and qualitative results were collected at a group discussion meeting. Quantitative data were scores of sufficient evidence, situational suitability, practicability, cost-effectiveness, and understandability (ranged from one to four) for 119 items of the app contents, including the health tracking module, the self-assessment module, coping strategies for 18 symptoms (80 items), medication management, complementary therapy, diet management, exercise, relaxation techniques, and the obtaining support module. The SM app was comprised of eight modules and provided several personalized symptom management functions, including assessing symptoms and receiving different symptom management strategies, tracking health indicators, and communicating with medical staff. The SM app was a promising and flexible tool for HIV symptom management. It provided PLWH with personalized symptom management strategies and facilitated the case management for medical staff. Future studies are needed to further test the app’s usability among PLWH users and its effects on symptom management.
Highlights
Introduction distributed under the terms andSince the development of antiretroviral therapy (ART), persons living with HIV (PLWH) can achieve a relatively satisfying life expectancy [1]
Evidence showed that both the number and frequency of symptoms were not associated with CD4 count levels, which indicated that those symptoms persisted throughout the HIV infection trajectory in Persons living with HIV (PLWH) [4]
All experts completed the evaluation checklist. They generally agreed with the framework and content of the app and gave high scores on the questionnaire
Summary
Introduction distributed under the terms andSince the development of antiretroviral therapy (ART), persons living with HIV (PLWH) can achieve a relatively satisfying life expectancy [1]. Symptoms and related health outcomes have brought significant challenges and distress to the quality of life for PLWH. Many factors such as HIV infection, opportunistic infections and comorbidities, conditions of the Creative Commons. ART helps to decrease symptom intensity [4], it brings on additional symptoms such as lipodystrophy, insomnia, and rash [3]. Evidence showed that both the number and frequency of symptoms were not associated with CD4 count levels, which indicated that those symptoms persisted throughout the HIV infection trajectory in PLWH [4]. Previous studies reported a different but high prevalence of these common symptoms, with a range of
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
