Management of Weight-Loss: Patients' and Healthcare Professionals' Requirements for an E-health System for Patients

An increasing number of patients with overweight undergo weight-reduction treatment. However, many people experience challenges with long-term maintenance and are in risk of weight-regain. Currently there is no unique solution that ensures long-term maintenance of lost weight. Several studies have explored the effectiveness of web-based and e-health interventions, on improving the outcomes of weight-management. The results are unclear. This paper describes requirements for e-health solutions for weight-loss patients. Our findings suggest that such solutions need to be developed in collaboration with both patients and healthcare professionals to ensure that they are in line with medical treatment in addition to taking consideration to the behavioral aspects of using such systems.