Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and hospitalization in Canada among individuals aged 65 and older, who face persistent challenges in daily symptom management (McLean et al., 2012, p. e740; Government of Canada, 2022). Although several mobile health (mHealth) tools have been developed to support chronic disease self‑management, existing applications often rely on manual data entry, offer fragmented and overly technical data, and lack accessibility features tailored to aging users. These limitations increase interaction burden, reduce long‑term adherence, and hinder effective patient‑provider communication (Kaplan et al., 2024, p. 4; Zou et al., 2024, pp. 5-6).

This Major Research Project (MRP) explores how an accessible, low‑burden mHealth tool can improve symptom tracking and doctor‑patient communication for people 65 and older with COPD. Following an inclusive design methodology grounded in the Knowledge Loop framework, key concepts from literature,and a content analysis of eleven existing chronic disease management apps were conducted to identify core user needs: reducing physical management burden, bridging communication gaps, addressing digital barriers, and supporting long‑term adherence. Based on these findings, a mid‑fidelity prototype (LungMate) was developed, featuring a daily check‑in, a one‑page report export with dual summaries (patient and clinician versions), multimodal feedback, and adjustable text size.

The prototype was tested with four participants and one healthcare provider (adults over aged 65) through task‑based usability sessions and short interviews. Thematic analysis identified several usability and accessibility barriers, which informed concrete design recommendations. The study demonstrates that simple, low‑effort design choices can significantly improve the usability and accessibility of mHealth tools for people 65 and older.