Loading...
Comparison of patient perceptions of Telehealth-supported and specialist nursing interventions for early stage COPD: a qualitative study
Fitzsimmons, D.A. Thompson, J. Bentley, C.L. Mountain, Gail
Fitzsimmons, D.A.
Thompson, J.
Bentley, C.L.
Mountain, Gail
Publication Date
2016-08-22
End of Embargo
Supervisor
Rights
© 2016 The Authors. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Peer-Reviewed
Yes
Open Access status
openAccess
Accepted for publication
2016-08-03
Institution
Department
Awarded
Embargo end date
Collections
Additional title
Abstract
The increasing prevalence and associated cost of treating Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
(COPD) is unsustainable, and focus is needed on self-management and prevention of hospital admissions.
Telehealth monitoring of patients’ vital signs allows clinicians to prioritise their workload and enables patients to
take more responsibility for their health. This paper reports the results of a qualitative study embedded within a
feasibility and pilot Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) of Telehealth-supported care within a community-based
COPD supported-discharge service. The aim of the study was to qualitatively explore the experiences of patients
with COPD who had received either a Telehealth-supported or a specialist nursing intervention following their
discharge from hospital after an admission for a COPD exacerbation.
Methods: Patients were invited to either participate in semi-structured interviews or to complete a semi-structured
self-administered questionnaire on completion of the intervention. Nine patients were interviewed (67 % female)
and seventeen patients completed the questionnaires. In addition, three clinicians responsible for the delivery of
both interventions were interviewed to obtain their perspectives on the new services.
Results: Seven underlying themes emerged from the patient interviews and were further explored in the
questionnaires: (1) patient demographics; (2) information received by the participants; (3) installation of the
Telehealth technology; (4) Telehealth service functionality; (5) visits; (6) service withdrawal; and (7) service
perceptions. Recipients of both services reported feelings of safety derived from the delivery of an integrated,
community-based service.
Conclusions: Although recipients of the Telehealth service received 50 % fewer home visits from the
clinicians than recipients of a more traditional community-based nursing intervention, the patients were
enthusiastic about the service, with some describing it as the best service they had ever received. This
suggests that a Telehealth intervention is an acceptable alternative to a more traditional home nursing visit
model for monitoring community-based patients with COPD following their discharge from hospital.
Version
Published version
Citation
Fitzsimmons DA, Thompson J, Bentley CL et al (2016) Comparison of patient perceptions of Telehealth-supported and specialist nursing interventions for early stage COPD: a
qualitative study. BMC Health Services Research. 16:420.
Link to publisher’s version
Link to published version
Link to Version of Record
Type
Article