Behavior Design in HF is a research study and remote care program powered by
Over a 6 month period, Pattern Health in collaboration with Medtronic and Duke’s Center for Advanced Hindsight (CAH) conducted a pilot study of 26 congestive heart failure patients (CHF) using the HealthStar app by Pattern Health. The primary aim of the pilot was to understand if CHF patients would act on instructions provided by a mobile app. Additionally, there was a desire to determine if an app could impact the unmet psychological needs of CHF patients. Therefore, the secondary aims of improving patient agency and control, mastery and confidence, and mood and well-being were also studied.
During a 6 month study of congestive heart failure patients using the HealthStar app, the following results were observed:
- Most users remained active on HealthStar after the first week and used the app consistently throughout the 6 month duration of the study
- When patients set a specific implementation intention (II) , as prompted by the app for their evening weight task, they were far more likely to follow through
- Users of the HealthStar app actively engaged in the study’s mood intervention (pleasant activities) and reported liking of the intervention. Furthermore, completing pleasant activities was related to a decrease in irritability and increase in contentment
Overall the study was a successful pilot and valuable information was learned about how heart failure patients respond to instructions given by an app. Most importantly, we learned that when patients set an implementation intention (II) they completed their task 70% of the time compared to only 36% of the time when they failed to set an II. In addition, response to the HealthStar app was very positive, indicating that app acceptability among a typical heart failure population is good.
Read the full report: Behavior Design in Heart Failure Pilot Study