Developing a mHealth intervention to redesign the current journey for people living with HIV: A qualitative study

People living with human immunodeficiency virus could particularly benefit from mobile health (mHealth). The objective of the study was to contribute to the design and development of a new standard of care for people living with human immunodeficiency virus and the mHealth app needed to support it by 1) exploring the view of people living with human immunodeficiency virus and healthcare professionals on the possibilities of mHealth tools on HIV care, and 2) implementing their feedback into the new app and into the new journey of people living with human immunodeficiency virus. The study was conducted in two different phases: phase one was to apprise patients’ and healthcare professionals’ perspectives on mHealth using the qualitative methodology of the focus groups, whereas phase two aimed to implement their feedback into the application. A total of five people living with human immunodeficiency virus and nine healthcare professionals (three clinical pharmacists, three nurses, two physicians, and one pharmacy technician) participated in the focus groups. The patients identified the following main aspects to be improved in the current patients’ journey: insufficient information (n = 5), lack of general population disease awareness (n = 5), and medication dispensation model (n = 3). Moreover, healthcare professionals identified the next health outcomes to be enhanced with mHealth tools: patients’ quality of life (n = 7), control of the disease (n = 5) and comorbidities (n = 3), and adherence to medication (n = 5). According to these needs, the new healthcare model was designed. The mHealth was provided with different features, such as information about the disease, health promotion and prevention, the possibility of two-way patient-healthcare professionals communication, or synchronization with other devices. The new human immunodeficiency virus care journey and the app are currently being tested in a group of people living with human immunodeficiency virus in real-world conditions in our hospital. Improving patients’ quality of life, therapeutic adherence, or disease control are key objectives for optimizing people living with human immunodeficiency virus care. Our digital health tool and the new healthcare model have been implemented based on end-users’ feedback to achieve better patients-healthcare professionals communication and patient engagement with their care. Las personas que viven con el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana podrían beneficiarse de