Abstract

Objective: This paper present to explore the users' insights that contribute to behaviour
change in blood pressure and the user requirements for a self-care application and analysis
for someone with high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Methods/Statistical
Analysis: We distributed a questionnaire survey to the public, which is made by Google
Form. A questionnaire is a research tool that consists of a series of questions to gather
information from respondents. The response collected for analysing through statistical
analysis. The questionnaire is then filtered to remove trolls from the report. We interviewed
with a doctor from Pusat Kesihatan Universiti(PKU), UTM. We did an open-ended interview
to stimulate the discussion. The questions are scripted and categorised thoroughly. The tone
and expression were observed and taken into consideration. Findings: Results indicated that
hypertension could be prevented through proper lifestyle changes, if and only if the person
is willing to change his/her behaviour. The participants well accepted the idea of a self-care
application and the components to be included in the self-monitoring application were
identified. The identified elements are such as self-monitoring, diet, exercise, activity
planning, analysis, goal setting, forum, social support, voice command and reminders. As for
someone who already suffered hypertension, taking medication has second-highest priority
where else it holds lesser priority among prehypertension. About 20% of the participants
showed less interest in a self-care application either because they are not technology savvy
or because of their advanced age status. Application/Improvements: A framework, design

Keyword: Hypertension, interview, questionnaire, prehypertension, self-care application

Lifestyle and Self-Monitoring

Based on the answer received from the questionnaire, the responded suggested that lifestyle need
to change in order to reduce the risk of getting both hypertension and hypotension. The responded
also suggest that food intake is an essential factor for preventing problems related to blood
pressure. <Responded: How he gets diabetis>. Mayoclinic.org stated that in order to avoid high
blood pressure without taking any medication, we should lose extra pounds and watch your
waistline, exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, reduce sodium in your diet, limit the amount of
alcohol you drink, quit smoking, cut back on caffeine, reduce your stress, monitor your blood
pressure at home and see your doctor regularly and get support from family and friends, Mayo Clinic
Staff, (09/01/2019). The availability of automation and inexpensive blood pressure monitor enable
people to take a blood pressure reading at home quickly. With a higher price, a sophisticated blood
pressure monitoring device could enable the users to connect to a smartphone and other devices.
The information taken could be used and inserted in the apps for the app to monitor and analyse the
user’s blood pressure. This would give the users great in-depth detail for the users to follow. The app
could help doctors to tweak the user’s drugs and doses more efficiently so that the user and doctor
would not have to wait until the next appointment. That is why home monitoring could be helpful
for people that suffer from hypertension and hypotension. <The app> could also help the users to
reach their targeted blood pressure in ease. The app would remind the user to take a healthy diet
right on their time. They also could use the app to make a DIY medication adjustment. For example,
when the user feels that the blood pressure readings are high and occasionally feel chest pain
(symptom for high blood pressure), the user might ask the doctor to give the user a higher amount
of diuretics dosage.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Our thanks to Professor Dr, , Faculty of Engineering, University Teknologi Malaysia for giving us
advice and ideas on this paper. We would also like to thank all that is involved in the study for their
support and cooperation.