[Development of an app to support in-home care consultation visits].

Abstract

Background: The in-home care consultation visits according to § 37.3 of the Social Security Statute Book XI have been carried out inconsistently so far and with a lack of structured care documentation. In the INGE-integrate4care project, an app was developed to support the quality assurance of visits.

Method: Based on a user-centered design approach, 10 semistructured expert interviews were conducted and analyzed using qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. In group-based expert walkthroughs with 7 participants, the design, contents and functions of the app were discussed, requirements were collected in feedback lists and digitally implemented by developers.

Results: Interviewees reported that visits are heterogeneous, that there are individual approaches and that this should be reflected in the design of the app. Important topics for the app were, e.g. contents of the NBA and the burden on caregivers. Functions such as the recommendation of measures on the basis of documented information are desirable. On the other hand, too stringent guidelines of the app would be an obstacle, as these would limit the conversational character of the visit. The NBA and BIZA‑D were chosen by the experts in the project as suitable basic assessments and adapted to the visits. Flexible access to items, visualization of care status per category, and the ability to select and track measures were specified to support workflow.

Discussion: The user-centered design approach enabled the development of an app that is characterized by both flexibility and structure. The tool will be further optimized with the help of usability evaluations and focus groups.