Making Meaning with Mobile Health: Patients’ Lived Experiences of Chronic Disease Self-Management

Abstract

The rapid integration of mobile health (mHealth) applications into chronic disease management has transformed digital health engagement across diverse patient populations. While numerous studies have evaluated the effectiveness of mHealth tools through quantitative outcomes, limited attention has been given to how chronically ill patients interpret and emotionally experience their daily use of such technologies. Despite increasing adoption, little is known about the lived experiences of these patients and how mHealth influences their sense of control, trust, and self-management—prompting the question: How do chronically ill patients make meaning of their engagement with mHealth applications? This study adopts an interpretative phenomenological approach to explore the subjective experiences of ten chronically ill adult patients (aged 35–68, with diabetes, hypertension, or heart disease) using mHealth applications for chronic illness self-care. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis to uncover essential themes. Four central themes emerged: rediscovering control through digital guidance, emotional negotiation of trust, balancing digital isolation and connection, and motivation anchored in self-worth. These findings illuminate the complex, affective dimensions of mHealth engagement and highlight the role of emotional resonance in sustaining digital health behaviors. The study contributes a deeper understanding of how digital tools are integrated into the lived realities of patients and calls for more empathetic, human-centered design in future mHealth interventions. These insights expand the phenomenological discourse on technology use in healthcare and provide a conceptual foundation for longitudinal and cross-cultural research in digital health experiences.