This master’s thesis investigates how to support individuals with Persistent Post-Concussion Symptoms (PPCS) through the development of a human-centered digital mHealth tool for personalized concussion management, in collaboration with St. Olavs Hospital.  

Each year, around 15,000-30,000 people in Norway experience a concussion, and approximately 10-30% develop PPCS. Individuals with PPCS often struggle to understand their own situation, identify triggers, and symptom development, which can increase overall symptom burden and highlight the need for tailored support and guidance. 

This thesis builds on and advances the DiSCo tool, an mHealth solution developed through a clinical study at St. Olavs Hospital (2022–2024). The aim is to further develop DiSCo into a clinically relevant and scalable solution that supports self-management by enabling personalized symptom tracking for situational awareness, while also facilitating meaningful communication and follow-up with healthcare professionals.  

Central to this work is the challenge of motivating continuous symptom tracking to produce comparable and clinically useful data, while minimizing the risk of negative consequences related to heightened symptom burden. 

The research is grounded in principles of human-centered design and universal design, applied through an iterative and evidence-based design process. Design methods include multi-fidelity iterative prototyping, two clinical expert workshops, one domain expert workshop, usability testing, and a usability survey. 

The outcome of this thesis is a high-fidelity prototype of the DiSCo tool that supports self-management for individuals with PPCS with low cognitive load, minimal interaction effort, and reduced screen exposure. The design has been continuously validated through collaboration with clinical and domain experts to ensure clinical relevance and applicability. Usability testing findings indicate a clear user need and strong perceived value, suggesting the potential of the solution to support both everyday symptom management and clinical dialogue without increasing symptom burden.