Participatory Requirements Analysis for a Data-Driven Depression Aftercare App

The post-discharge period after inpatient treatment for depression is characterised by high relapse risk and long waiting times for outpatient specialist care. The BMFTR-funded INSITU project is developing a data-driven multimodal system for individualised therapy management. As a first step of the user-centered development, a participatory requirements analysis was conducted with patients (N = 15) and healthcare professionals (N = 29). Both groups prioritised ease of use, mood tracking, data privacy, and crisis management features. The avatar concept was rejected by ∼80% of patients. The findings inform the INSITU system design, offer transferable insights for other depression aftercare applications, and will be followed by initial MVP usability results presented at the conference.