Identifying Required Data Elements for Designing A Mobile-Based Application for Self-Care of Women Living with Endometriosis

Introduction: According to WHO, 190 million reproductive-aged women are affected by endometriosis. Using self-care interventions has a significant impact on managing endometriosis-related pain. Despite the enormous potential of different endometriosis applications, the medical professionals’ role has been neglected in the process of app development. This study aimed to extract the requirements for developing a mobile-based app for self-care of endometriosis patients through an overview of the literature, and validate them according to the expert gynecologists’ point of view.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in two steps. First, endometriosis-related articles were reviewed. Second, a researcher-made questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.98) was designed to validate the identified information elements. Elements that obtained at least an average score of 3.2 (60%) out of 5-point Likert scale, were considered practicable elements for designing the app.Results: Based on the literature review, 36 studies were retrieved and 126 data elements were extracted. The elements were classified into six categories including electronic health record, educational materials, follow-up, pain management, nutritional diet, and lifestyle. All data elements except “using traditional opioids/drugs” were verified.Conclusion: In this study, a minimum data set was achieved for designing an endometriosis mobile app. Due to the lack of international standards for designing health apps, the results of this research can be beneficial for the design and development of any other apps. Investment in this study would improve the quality of care thereby reducing the burden and cost of endometriosis.