Self-care and New Technology:Developing Body Awareness and Personal Rhythm using a mobile/iPad App

Sarah Davis¹, Eunice J Minford², ¹Goonellabah, Australia, ²Northern Health and Social Care Trust, N Ireland

Self-Care and ResponsibilitySelf-care has been promoted in the management of chronic health conditions with increasingly overburdened health care systems worldwide. It also has an essential role to play where people are becoming more conscious about their health and want to have a greater role in taking care of themselves¹⁻². A UK Department of Health survey found that more than 9 in 10 people were interested in being more active self-carers³.

A submission requested by the NHS constitution (2012) outlines provisions for encouraging greater individual responsibility⁴. The main points included ‘adding the meaning of responsibility to health’ and ‘self-care’ and ‘support for self-care across schools and local community’. Technology and Self-Care: ‘mHealth’The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently defined mHealth as “medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other wireless devices⁵.” Health and wellbeing applications are estimated to make up approximately 40% of new smartphone apps currently being developed⁶.

Defining Self-Care for this StudySelf-care is formed through the practice of observing, feeling and responding to our needs, and includes all decisions people make for themselves towards a better quality of life; physically, mentally and energetically.

AimMeasure the effect of a ‘Health Application’ (iPhone, iPad) on Self-care amongst individuals in a general population.

Health Application: ‘Our Cycles’This application was designed for men and women as a ‘modern-age tool for body awareness and self-care for health and well-being’, to support individuals towards greater self-care through supporting observation and body awareness⁷.

Body AwarenessObservation forms the basis of body awareness. Whilst long-term outcome studies are needed, the positive short-term outcomes of basic ‘Body Awareness Training’ have been reported as self-efficacy, sleep and physical coping⁸.

Hypothesis• The ability and practice of observing one’s body, (feelings, sensations) may determine the individual’s ability to respond to cues and make decisions around self-care.• Through a focus on observation and body awareness, the ‘Our Cycles’ app will lead to a significant increase in self-care behaviours and reported well-being.

Method A subject group of 50 men and women will use the ‘Our Cycles’ app for a period of 12 weeks. The Self-Care Assessment and Personal Well Being Index scale will be administered Pre (Baseline) & Post program.

ConclusionHealth applications have the potential to be adapted and usedby healthcare professionals and consumers, helping to revolutionise the sector and reflect the digital age we live in. It is proposed that the use of the ‘Our Cycles’ app will lead to a significant increase in self-care behaviours and reported well-being.

References 1) Greenop D, Glenn S, Ledson M, Walshaw M. Self-care and cystic fibrosis: a review of research with adults. Health Soc Care Community. 2010 Nov;18(6):653-61

2) Thomas Goetz, The Decision Tree: Taking Control of Your Health in the New Era of Personalized Medicine, Rodale Publishing, 2010.

3) DH/MORI survey, “Public views on self care”, 2005

4) Field, Steve Prof. The Self-Care Forum http://www.selfcareforum.org/2013/02/07/nhs-constitution-consultation/, 2013

5) mHealth: New horizons for health through mobile technologies. [http://www.who.int/goe/publications/goe_mhealth_web.pdf

6) Mosa, A., I, Yoo., Sheets, L. Systematic Review of Healthcare Applications for Smartphones. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 2012, 12:67

7) Benhayon, N ‘Our Cycles’ 2013, http://www.ourcyclesapp.com/

8) AMANDA LUNDVIK GYLLENSTEN, LARS HANSSON and CHARLOTTE EKDAHLOutcome of Basic Body Awareness Therapy. A Randomized Controlled Study of Patients in Psychiatric Outpatient Care, 2003, Vol. 5, No. 4 , Pages 179-190