eHealth in Home Dialysis: Usability and Patient Experience

Chronic kidney disease affects approximately 10% of the population worldwide and the amount of kidney disease patients is predicted to increase especially in countries where the dependency ratio is high, such as in Finland. The most common type of dialysis is in-center hemodialysis (ICHD). However, home dialysis is associated with higher quality of life and lower costs. 

About a third of dialysis patients perform dialysis at home. Home dialysis is life supporting, demanding treatment, which requires a large amount of supplies delivered to patients´ homes.

Objectives: Research on Usability and Patient Experience aims to support patient-centred development of eHealth solutions and home dialysis care by applying qualitative research approach and methods of user-centred design. The objectives are:   

• Identify needs and experiences of patients on their care and everyday living with the disease 
• Describe patient profiles and related patient journeys of various patient groups 
• Identify and illustrate user requirements and boundary conditions for eHealth solutions from the patients’ viewpoint 
• Support user-centred development of eHealth solutions for home dialysis patients.

Study protocol: The project includes three work packages: 

1. Introduction: Literature review and interviews with 8 healthcare professionals.
2. User research: Retrospective interviews with about 30 patients.
3. Patient-centred development of eHealth services: Three workshops including participatory design sessions and focus groups with 10 home dialysis patients, healthcare professionals and co-operation company representatives. Remote usability evaluation with 10 home dialysis patients. 

Part of eCare for Me project: Research on Usability and Patient experience is part of eHealth in Home Dialysis project, coordinated by Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS). The overall aim of the project is to identify patients suitable for home dialysis at an early stage and to create an application that patients can use during the entire dialysis stage, starting from predialysis. 

eHealth in Home Dialysis project is funded by Business Finland and is part of eCare for me development project and CleverHealth Network ecosystem.