A qualitative study of perspectives on the acceptability and feasibility of “virtual home visits” for asthma
Abstract Background Asthma home-visit programs delivered by community health workers (CHWs) are an effective way to improve asthma outcomes and cost of care, through performing home environmental inspections, delivering education and hands-on demonstrations, and providing personalized behavior chang...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2023-12-01
|
| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17485-8 |
| _version_ | 1797376788187316224 |
|---|---|
| author | Mary E. Crocker James W. Stout |
| author_facet | Mary E. Crocker James W. Stout |
| author_sort | Mary E. Crocker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Asthma home-visit programs delivered by community health workers (CHWs) are an effective way to improve asthma outcomes and cost of care, through performing home environmental inspections, delivering education and hands-on demonstrations, and providing personalized behavior change support. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many in-person asthma CHW programs have been adapted to be delivered virtually, but it is unclear whether this is acceptable or feasible for clients with asthma. This qualitative study sought to identify perspectives of prior clients of the Public Health–Seattle & King County Asthma Program on acceptability and feasibility of a hypothetical virtual asthma program. Methods We performed semi-structured interviews with participants speaking English, Spanish, and Somali. An a priori codebook was developed based on the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability and was revised iteratively during coding. Intra-rater reliability was established, and thematic analysis was used to determine major themes. Results A total of 19 individuals participated (9 speaking English, 8 Spanish, and 2 Somali). Krippendorf’s alpha was 0.848, indicating high intra-rater reliability. Our results demonstrated that many participants felt positively about the prospect of completing the program virtually, but they also expected a variety of challenges, the most important of which were lack of engagement with the CHW and lack of confidence in the accuracy of a virtual home inspection. Participants also varied widely in their comfort level with videoconferencing platforms and their access to adequate internet connectivity. Conclusions Acceptability and feasibility of virtual programming varies widely between participants, indicating that there may be no “one-size-fits-all” approach. We present several recommendations for adapting in-person asthma home visit programs to a virtual format, including considering a hybrid approach to delivery, making concerted efforts to build rapport when using videoconferencing, and deliberately evaluating the effectiveness of new adaptations, especially if a virtual environmental assessment is attempted. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T19:43:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a1b8d94f54f34e7684f2057520ff9b42 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T19:43:39Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-a1b8d94f54f34e7684f2057520ff9b422023-12-24T12:31:25ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582023-12-0123111010.1186/s12889-023-17485-8A qualitative study of perspectives on the acceptability and feasibility of “virtual home visits” for asthmaMary E. Crocker0James W. Stout1Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle Children’s HospitalDepartment of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of WashingtonAbstract Background Asthma home-visit programs delivered by community health workers (CHWs) are an effective way to improve asthma outcomes and cost of care, through performing home environmental inspections, delivering education and hands-on demonstrations, and providing personalized behavior change support. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many in-person asthma CHW programs have been adapted to be delivered virtually, but it is unclear whether this is acceptable or feasible for clients with asthma. This qualitative study sought to identify perspectives of prior clients of the Public Health–Seattle & King County Asthma Program on acceptability and feasibility of a hypothetical virtual asthma program. Methods We performed semi-structured interviews with participants speaking English, Spanish, and Somali. An a priori codebook was developed based on the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability and was revised iteratively during coding. Intra-rater reliability was established, and thematic analysis was used to determine major themes. Results A total of 19 individuals participated (9 speaking English, 8 Spanish, and 2 Somali). Krippendorf’s alpha was 0.848, indicating high intra-rater reliability. Our results demonstrated that many participants felt positively about the prospect of completing the program virtually, but they also expected a variety of challenges, the most important of which were lack of engagement with the CHW and lack of confidence in the accuracy of a virtual home inspection. Participants also varied widely in their comfort level with videoconferencing platforms and their access to adequate internet connectivity. Conclusions Acceptability and feasibility of virtual programming varies widely between participants, indicating that there may be no “one-size-fits-all” approach. We present several recommendations for adapting in-person asthma home visit programs to a virtual format, including considering a hybrid approach to delivery, making concerted efforts to build rapport when using videoconferencing, and deliberately evaluating the effectiveness of new adaptations, especially if a virtual environmental assessment is attempted.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17485-8AsthmaCommunity health workerVideoconferencingHome visitQualitativeIndoor allergens |
| spellingShingle | Mary E. Crocker James W. Stout A qualitative study of perspectives on the acceptability and feasibility of “virtual home visits” for asthma BMC Public Health Asthma Community health worker Videoconferencing Home visit Qualitative Indoor allergens |
| title | A qualitative study of perspectives on the acceptability and feasibility of “virtual home visits” for asthma |
| title_full | A qualitative study of perspectives on the acceptability and feasibility of “virtual home visits” for asthma |
| title_fullStr | A qualitative study of perspectives on the acceptability and feasibility of “virtual home visits” for asthma |
| title_full_unstemmed | A qualitative study of perspectives on the acceptability and feasibility of “virtual home visits” for asthma |
| title_short | A qualitative study of perspectives on the acceptability and feasibility of “virtual home visits” for asthma |
| title_sort | qualitative study of perspectives on the acceptability and feasibility of virtual home visits for asthma |
| topic | Asthma Community health worker Videoconferencing Home visit Qualitative Indoor allergens |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17485-8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT maryecrocker aqualitativestudyofperspectivesontheacceptabilityandfeasibilityofvirtualhomevisitsforasthma AT jameswstout aqualitativestudyofperspectivesontheacceptabilityandfeasibilityofvirtualhomevisitsforasthma AT maryecrocker qualitativestudyofperspectivesontheacceptabilityandfeasibilityofvirtualhomevisitsforasthma AT jameswstout qualitativestudyofperspectivesontheacceptabilityandfeasibilityofvirtualhomevisitsforasthma |