Eyow, Hodan A.. The quantified self: utilization of a mobile application for the self-management of chronic diseases. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-h31t-4a36
DescriptionA contemporary trend is emerging in health informatics that literature refer to as the quantified self. Individuals engage in the self-tracking of any kind of biological, physical, behavioral, or environmental information as n=1 individual or in groups. As such, this study looks to uncover the opportunities to analyze and integrate mobile health application datasets for rendering self-tracked health data meaningful. In doing so, addressing the barriers to widespread adoption of self-tracking health and critiques regarding scientific soundness of patient generated health data. This study looks at the use of Flaredown, a mobile health application for managing any chronic condition. Data mining patient generated data is omnivorous in part because it has embarked on the project of discerning unanticipated relationships. This study examined the relationship between self-tracked symptom severity and treatment efficiency. The results found the strongest tracked symptom improvements to treatment for sharp pains followed by fatigue, brain fog, lack of motivation, fatigue and tiredness(combined) and lack of appetite. The results demonstrate that the use of mobile health application to quantifies one’s health and disease state makes the individual more knowable, calculable, and administrate through continuous self-tracking symptom severity and associated treatments.