Development and evaluation of a self-care application based on herbal medicine for skin and hair diseases

Abstract

Background: Self-care applications are effective in the control and treatment of disease symptoms. Today, the mobile phone is used as one of the tools that can help us in this regard. The present study attempts to develop and evaluate a functional self-care mobile-phone application for patients with skin and hair problems using treatment protocols of herbal medicine. Materials and Methods: This study is a descriptive-applied type. At first, a questionnaire was prepared for data need assessment and also to determine the data items and required capabilities of the application. Based on the results, an application was designed using the Java programing language in the Android software environment. In the next step, the application was installed on the mobile phones of several specialists and patients, and the necessary corrections were made. Then, the final version of the application was evaluated. Results: The most critical data elements of the mobile application for skin and hair patients included the application's functionality, temperament survey, and clinical information. After considering users' feedback, the screen functionality, the application's information and idiom, and overall functionality of the application were evaluated and approved by the users. Conclusion: By and large, the developed application could help the patients to receive the best and high-priority treatment protocols based on their own temperament.

Keywords

• e-health
• herbal medicine
• mobile health
• telemedicine
• traditional medicine