Cystic Fibrosis: A Pocket Guide

Abstract

In 2010, an iPad app titled ‘A Patient’s Guide to Cystic Fibrosis’ was developed for use by Cystic Fibrosis (CF) clinical nurse specialists during a patient’s annual review. Feedback from pseudo-CF patients and NHS staff including CF clinical nurse specialists and respiratory consultants about the appearance, usability and content of the app and iPad interface, and the appropriateness of the app for CF patients was positive. The visual images, animations and interactive elements of the app were sufficient in providing an engaging experience for the user. The app was deemed suitable for patients and set a foundation for the development of comprehensive and interactive CF patient information learning tools. Since 2010, the prevalence and popularity of iPad apps in healthcare have soared and apps now have the capability to include more interactive touch-based experiences with digital content such as 3D models. The original iPad app was re-developed as an Apple iBook and an Android app titled ‘Cystic Fibrosis: A Pocket Guide’. This paper describes the design, development and feedback on the original iPad app and its subsequent variants, and concludes with reflections from the specialist CF nurses, who have continued to use pocket guide over 10 years.

Keywords:

• Cystic fibrosis
• medical art
• medical illustration
• patient information
• iBook
• iPad

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Jane Wilson who programmed the original iPad in 2010, and Nuifish Ltd. who developed and published the iBook and Android app. ‘A Patient’s Guide to Cystic Fibrosis’ was developed with part-funding via education grants from Roche Products Ltd. and Forest Laboratories UK, Ltd., neither of which have had control of the content.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).