Development and feasibility of an eHealth tool for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive disease with a poor prognosis. The quality of life of patients is often impaired [1, 2]. In other chronic lung diseases, the use of eHealth to improve clinical outcomes has been increasingly investigated [3–5]. eHealth is defined as “the use of information and communication technologies for health” [6]. Use of eHealth may improve understanding of disease, promote self-management and facilitate longitudinal data collection for both care and research [3, 7]. Experience with eHealth tools in IPF is scarce and people are often hesitant to start online initiatives in this mostly elderly population. However, collecting data at home and facilitating consultations at a distance could hold great benefits for these patients, as they often struggle to visit hospital because of reduced mobility, dyspnoea and extra oxygen needs. Together with patients we developed IPF-online, an eHealth tool for patients with IPF, and evaluated the feasibility and user satisfaction of this tool.

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