ChroniUXMag: A Persona-Driven Framework for Inclusive mHealth Requirements Engineering

TL;DR

ChroniUXMag addresses the dynamic, heterogeneous needs of chronic-disease patients in mHealth by introducing a persona-driven requirements engineering framework that extends InclusiveMag and GenderMag. It defines a two-stage process (Scope and Derive) to identify 13 health-specific inclusivity facets, synthesizes them into structured personas, and adapts a cognitive walkthrough to systematically uncover both general usability and inclusivity barriers. The approach is validated through a mixed-methods study (SLR, focus groups, interviews, surveys) with 22 participants and a preliminary assessment of four diabetes apps using 2,445 user reviews, demonstrating facet relevance across health situations, attitudes, dependencies, and trust. The work advances RE in digital health by providing a reproducible toolkit for embedding inclusivity into mHealth design and evaluation, with future work aimed at applying the Apply stage in real-world settings to assess scalability and impact.

Abstract

Mobile health (mHealth) applications are increasingly adopted for chronic disease management, yet they face persistent challenges related to accessibility, inclusivity, and sustained engagement. Patients' needs evolve dynamically with their health progression, adherence, and caregiver support, creating unique requirements engineering (RE) challenges that traditional approaches often overlook. This study introduces ChroniUXMag, a framework for eliciting and analysing inclusivity requirements in mHealth design. Building on InclusiveMag and GenderMag principles, the framework aims to help researchers and practitioners systematically capture and evaluate factors that influence how individuals with chronic conditions perceive, trust, and interact with mHealth systems. The framework was developed through two stages of the InclusiveMag process. In the first stage, inclusivity facets were identified through a systematic literature review, focus groups, interviews, and a large-scale survey. In the second stage, these facets were synthesised into personas representing diverse health situations, attitudes, and digital practices, and integrated into an adapted cognitive walkthrough form. Thirteen facets were identified that capture the socio-technical complexity of mHealth use, including trust, digital literacy, dependency, and cultural context. These facets support structured, persona-driven evaluations that reveal inclusivity barriers often missed by traditional usability assessments. ChroniUXMag contributes to RE by offering a reproducible, evidence-based approach for embedding inclusivity into mHealth requirements. Future work will extend the third stage Apply through practitioner-led evaluation in real-world design contexts.

Figures (3)

• Figure 1: Research Methodology
• Figure 3: ChroniUXMag Persona Template
• Figure 4: ChroniUXMag specialisation of a Cognitive Walkthrough form