“I Like the Idea of It…But Probably Wouldn’t Use It” - Health Care Provider Perspectives on Heart Failure mHealth: Qualitative Study

BackgroundMany mobile health (mHealth) technologies exist for patients with heart failure (HF). However, HF mhealth lacks evidence of efficacy, caregiver involvement, and clinically useful real-time data. ObjectiveWe aim to capture health care providers’ perceived value of HF mHealth, pa...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Portz, Jennifer Dickman, Ford, Kelsey Lynett, Elsbernd, Kira, Knoepke, Christopher E, Flint, Kelsey, Bekelman, David B, Boxer, Rebecca S, Bull, Sheana
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2020-09-01
Series:JMIR Cardio
Online Access:http://cardio.jmir.org/2020/1/e18101/
Description
Summary:BackgroundMany mobile health (mHealth) technologies exist for patients with heart failure (HF). However, HF mhealth lacks evidence of efficacy, caregiver involvement, and clinically useful real-time data. ObjectiveWe aim to capture health care providers’ perceived value of HF mHealth, particularly for pairing patient–caregiver-generated data with clinical intervention to inform the design of future HF mHealth. MethodsThis study is a subanalysis of a larger qualitative study based on interviewing patients with HF, their caregivers, and health care providers. This analysis included interviews with health care providers (N=20), focusing on their perceived usefulness of HF mHealth tools and interventions. ResultsA total of 5 themes emerged: (1) bio-psychosocial-spiritual monitoring, (2) use of sensors, (3) interoperability, (4) data sharing, and (5) usefulness of patient-reported outcomes in practice. Providers remain interested in mHealth technologies for HF patients and their caregivers. However, providers report being unconvinced of the clinical usefulness of robust real-time patient-reported outcomes. ConclusionsThe use of assessments, sensors, and real-time data collection could provide value in patient care. Future research must continually explore how to maximize the utility of mHealth for HF patients, their caregivers, and health care providers.
ISSN:2561-1011