“I Have to Do Something About It” - An Exploration of How Dashboards Invoke Self-Reflections in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

Abstract

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients need to track their symptoms for health professionals to adapt treatments in a timely manner in case of health deterioration. Clinicians typically analyzed the tracked data and recommended actions to patients who acted as mere data collectors. Consequently, patients have little agency and motivation to self-track. Two studies investigated how digital dashboards influenced patients’ motivation, agency, and reflections. Study 1 (one week) focused on how five patients used a paper diary to self-track and reflect on their symptoms. Additionally, the patients evaluated a tablet-based digital dashboard using four data visualisations. Study 2 looked at how five patients tracked and reflected on their data using a tablet-based dashboard for two weeks. By using reflective questions to prompt patients to compare and reflect on time series charts with data annotations, patients gained new knowledge about what factors might influence their symptoms and identified actions to improve their health (e.g. increase oxygen supplements). This strengthened their sense of agency and motivated them to participate more in the management of their condition.</p