scholarly journals Clinician Perspectives on the Design and Application of Wearable Cardiac Technologies for Older Adults: Qualitative Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caleb Ferguson ◽  
Sally C Inglis ◽  
Paul P Breen ◽  
Gaetano D Gargiulo ◽  
Victoria Byiers ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND New wearable devices (for example, AliveCor or Zio patch) offer promise in detecting arrhythmia and monitoring cardiac health status, among other clinically useful parameters in older adults. However, the clinical utility and usability from the perspectives of clinicians is largely unexplored. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore clinician perspectives on the use of wearable cardiac monitoring technology for older adults. METHODS A descriptive qualitative study was conducted using semistructured focus group interviews. Clinicians were recruited through purposive sampling of physicians, nurses, and allied health staff working in 3 tertiary-level hospitals. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis to identify themes. RESULTS Clinicians representing physicians, nurses, and allied health staff working in 3 tertiary-level hospitals completed 4 focus group interviews between May 2019 and July 2019. There were 50 participants (28 men and 22 women), including cardiologists, geriatricians, nurses, and allied health staff. The focus groups generated the following 3 overarching, interrelated themes: (1) the current state of play, understanding the perceived challenges of patient cardiac monitoring in hospitals, (2) priorities in cardiac monitoring, what parameters new technologies should measure, and (3) cardiac monitoring of the future, “the ideal device.” CONCLUSIONS There remain pitfalls related to the design of wearable cardiac technology for older adults that present clinical challenges. These pitfalls and challenges likely negatively impact the uptake of wearable cardiac monitoring in routine clinical care. Partnering with clinicians and patients in the co-design of new wearable cardiac monitoring technologies is critical to optimize the use of these devices and their uptake in clinical care.

JMIR Aging ◽  
10.2196/17299 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. e17299
Author(s):  
Caleb Ferguson ◽  
Sally C Inglis ◽  
Paul P Breen ◽  
Gaetano D Gargiulo ◽  
Victoria Byiers ◽  
...  

Background New wearable devices (for example, AliveCor or Zio patch) offer promise in detecting arrhythmia and monitoring cardiac health status, among other clinically useful parameters in older adults. However, the clinical utility and usability from the perspectives of clinicians is largely unexplored. Objective This study aimed to explore clinician perspectives on the use of wearable cardiac monitoring technology for older adults. Methods A descriptive qualitative study was conducted using semistructured focus group interviews. Clinicians were recruited through purposive sampling of physicians, nurses, and allied health staff working in 3 tertiary-level hospitals. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis to identify themes. Results Clinicians representing physicians, nurses, and allied health staff working in 3 tertiary-level hospitals completed 4 focus group interviews between May 2019 and July 2019. There were 50 participants (28 men and 22 women), including cardiologists, geriatricians, nurses, and allied health staff. The focus groups generated the following 3 overarching, interrelated themes: (1) the current state of play, understanding the perceived challenges of patient cardiac monitoring in hospitals, (2) priorities in cardiac monitoring, what parameters new technologies should measure, and (3) cardiac monitoring of the future, “the ideal device.” Conclusions There remain pitfalls related to the design of wearable cardiac technology for older adults that present clinical challenges. These pitfalls and challenges likely negatively impact the uptake of wearable cardiac monitoring in routine clinical care. Partnering with clinicians and patients in the co-design of new wearable cardiac monitoring technologies is critical to optimize the use of these devices and their uptake in clinical care.


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110329
Author(s):  
Peeter Lusmägi ◽  
Kadri Aavik

Various programs have been developed in different countries to encourage physical activity (PA) of older adults; however, older adults themselves have rarely been included in the development of such interventions. This article explores the meanings that people aged 50 years and above attribute to PA and their own engagement in PA, in the framework of a social-ecological model (SEM). In particular, we focus on the motivations and barriers they identified to their PA. We draw on focus group interviews with 44 older adults between the ages of 50 and 80 years, based in Estonia. Our findings suggest that it is important to use an expanded definition of PA (in older age), to include the diverse and perhaps unexpected ways in which people use their bodies and keep fit in different contexts. Based on our findings, we offer developments to existing versions of the SEM, highlighting the interconnectedness of all of its levels and propose ways to encourage PA of older adults.


JMIR Aging ◽  
10.2196/29788 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. e29788
Author(s):  
Ben Kim ◽  
Peyman Ghasemi ◽  
Paul Stolee ◽  
Joon Lee

Background Many people are motivated to self-track their health and optimize their well-being through mobile health apps and wearable devices. The diversity and complexity of these systems have evolved over time, resulting in a large amount of data referred to as patient-generated health data (PGHD), which has recently emerged as a useful set of data elements in health care systems around the world. Despite the increased interest in PGHD, clinicians and older adults’ perceptions of PGHD are poorly understood. In particular, although some clinician barriers to using PGHD have been identified, such as concerns about data quality, ease of use, reliability, privacy, and regulatory issues, little is known from the perspectives of older adults. Objective This study aims to explore the similarities and differences in the perceptions of older adults and clinicians with regard to how various types of PGHD can be used to care for older adults. Methods A mixed methods study was conducted to explore clinicians and older adults’ perceptions of PGHD. Focus groups were conducted with older adults and health care providers from the Greater Toronto area and the Kitchener-Waterloo region. The participants were asked to discuss their perceptions of PGHD, including facilitators and barriers. A questionnaire aimed at exploring the perceived usefulness of a range of different PGHD was also embedded in the study design. Focus group interviews were transcribed for thematic analysis, whereas the questionnaire results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the 9 participants, 4 (44%) were clinicians (average age 38.3 years, SD 7 years), and 5 (56%) were older adults (average age 81.0 years, SD 9.1 years). Four main themes were identified from the focus group interviews: influence of PGHD on patient-provider trust, reliability of PGHD, meaningful use of PGHD and PGHD-based decision support systems, and perceived clinical benefits and intrusiveness of PGHD. The questionnaire results were significantly correlated with the frequency of PGHD mentioned in the focus group interviews (r=0.42; P=.03) and demonstrated that older adults and clinicians perceived blood glucose, step count, physical activity, sleep, blood pressure, and stress level as the most useful data for managing health and delivering high-quality care. Conclusions This embedded mixed methods study generated several important findings about older adults and clinicians’ perceptions and perceived usefulness of a range of PGHD. Owing to the exploratory nature of this study, further research is needed to understand the concerns about data privacy, potential negative impact on the trust between older adults and clinicians, data quality and quantity, and usability of PGHD-related technologies for older adults.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Bian ◽  
Bing Ye ◽  
Anna Hoonakker ◽  
Alex Mihailidis

Abstract Background The rapid development of technology such as sensors and artificial intelligence in recent years enables monitoring frailty criteria to assess frailty early and accurately from a remote location such as a home. However, research shows technologies being abandoned or rejected by users due to a lack of compatibility and consumer involvement with the technologies. This study aims to understand older adult’s perceptions and preferences of technologies that can be potentially used to assess frailty in home settings. Methods This study is a qualitative study in which data were collected through focus group interviews. We recruited 15 older participants. Questions were asked to achieve the goal of understanding their attitudes on the technologies. These questions include 1) the concerns or barriers of installing and using the presented technology in daily life at home, 2) the reasons participants like or dislike a particular technology, 3) what makes a particular technology more acceptable, and 4) participants’ preferences in choosing technologies. Data were transcribed, coded and categorized, and finally synthesized to understand the attitudes towards presented technologies.Results A total of 15 older adults aged 65 and older were recruited. Three focus group sessions were conducted with five participants in each session. In the findings, the attitudes and perspectives of participants on the technologies for assessing frailty were presented in four areas: A) general attitude towards using the technologies, B) concerns about the technologies, C) existing living habits or patterns related to using the technologies, and D) constructive suggestions related to the technologies.Conclusions This study focuses on understanding the attitudes and perceptions of older adults on several technologies that could potentially be used to assess frailty in home settings. Participants generally have positive attitudes towards allowing the technologies to be installed and used at their home. Some technologies were found to be more acceptable if used under certain conditions. However, questions and concerns still remain. The study also found the living habits or patterns of older adults could affect the design and use of technology. Lastly, many valuable suggestions have been made by participants.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Kim ◽  
Peyman Ghasemi ◽  
Paul Stolee ◽  
Joon Lee

BACKGROUND Many people are motivated to self-track their health and optimize their well-being through mobile health apps and wearable devices. The diversity and complexity of these systems have evolved over time, resulting in a large amount of data referred to as patient-generated health data (PGHD), which has recently emerged as a useful set of data elements in health care systems around the world. Despite the increased interest in PGHD, clinicians and older adults’ perceptions of PGHD are poorly understood. In particular, although some clinician barriers to using PGHD have been identified, such as concerns about data quality, ease of use, reliability, privacy, and regulatory issues, little is known from the perspectives of older adults. OBJECTIVE This study aims to explore the similarities and differences in the perceptions of older adults and clinicians with regard to how various types of PGHD can be used to care for older adults. METHODS A mixed methods study was conducted to explore clinicians and older adults’ perceptions of PGHD. Focus groups were conducted with older adults and health care providers from the Greater Toronto area and the Kitchener-Waterloo region. The participants were asked to discuss their perceptions of PGHD, including facilitators and barriers. A questionnaire aimed at exploring the perceived usefulness of a range of different PGHD was also embedded in the study design. Focus group interviews were transcribed for thematic analysis, whereas the questionnaire results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS Of the 9 participants, 4 (44%) were clinicians (average age 38.3 years, SD 7 years), and 5 (56%) were older adults (average age 81.0 years, SD 9.1 years). Four main themes were identified from the focus group interviews: influence of PGHD on patient-provider trust, reliability of PGHD, meaningful use of PGHD and PGHD-based decision support systems, and perceived clinical benefits and intrusiveness of PGHD. The questionnaire results were significantly correlated with the frequency of PGHD mentioned in the focus group interviews (<i>r</i>=0.42; <i>P</i>=.03) and demonstrated that older adults and clinicians perceived blood glucose, step count, physical activity, sleep, blood pressure, and stress level as the most useful data for managing health and delivering high-quality care. CONCLUSIONS This embedded mixed methods study generated several important findings about older adults and clinicians’ perceptions and perceived usefulness of a range of PGHD. Owing to the exploratory nature of this study, further research is needed to understand the concerns about data privacy, potential negative impact on the trust between older adults and clinicians, data quality and quantity, and usability of PGHD-related technologies for older adults.


2018 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Gao ◽  
Fei Sun ◽  
Flavio F. Marsiglia ◽  
Xinqi Dong

Cultural values are believed to influence perceptions of and solutions to elder mistreatment (EM) perpetrated by family members. This study aimed to understand the influence of family cohesion on EM reported by community-dwelling older Chinese Americans. A mixed-method approach consisting of a quantitative survey built on focus group interviews was utilized. Focus group interviews were conducted to ensure subsequent survey questions about EM were culturally and linguistically appropriate. The revised survey questionnaires were then administered to 266 Chinese American older adults to assess estimated EM prevalence and the effects of family cohesion. Survey findings indicate that 1 in 10 reported at least one occurrence of EM in the past year. Depressed Chinese older adults (OR= 1.14) and those reporting low levels of family cohesion (OR = .82) were more likely to experience EM. Multigenerational family interventions can be designed to reduce older adults’ depression levels and promote family cohesion.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-111
Author(s):  
Po. Abas Sunarya ◽  
George Iwan Marantika ◽  
Adam Faturahman

Writing can mean lowering or describing graphic symbols that describe a languageunderstood by someone. For a researcher, management of research preparation is a veryimportant step because this step greatly determines the success or failure of all researchactivities. Before a person starts with research activities, he must make a written plan commonlyreferred to as the management of research data collection. In the process of collecting researchdata, of course we can do the management of questionnaires as well as the preparation ofinterview guidelines to disseminate and obtain accurate information. With the arrangement ofplanning and conducting interviews: the ethics of conducting interviews, the advantages anddisadvantages of interviews, the formulation of interview questions, the schedule of interviews,group and focus group interviews, interviews using recording devices, and interview bias.making a questionnaire must be designed with very good management by giving to theinformation needed, in accordance with the problem and all that does not cause problems at thestage of analysis and interpretation.


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