Web-based mobile e-Diary for youth with Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a common chronic inherited disorder of red blood cells requiring careful pain management, particularly for youth. Clinicians and researchers have developed efficient pain management methods, from the traditional paper and pencil method to the computer-based electronic diaries (e-Diary). With the recent proliferation of smartphones and the advancement in mobile Internet connectivity, a new healthcare technology has become available. This paper presents a mobile e-Diary platform for youth with SCD utilizing the Internet capability of modern mobile phones. Unlike previous e-Diary systems ours is completely based on the Web technology, thus it has the advantage of platform-independence. The proposed system is designed to help children write everyday diary and provide appropriate pain management by healthcare providers. The usability and reliability of the system was evaluated with youths with SCD in conjunction with the UCLA Nursing School during 6-month study period. Our pilot study confirmed that the proposed web-based mobile e-Diary system could be used as a template for other pediatric chronic illnesses interventions in youth with other chronic illnesses.