“An excellent servant but a terrible master”: Understanding the value of wearables for self-management in people with cystic fibrosis and their healthcare providers – A qualitative study

TY - JOUR

T1 - “An excellent servant but a terrible master”: Understanding the value of wearables for self-management in people with cystic fibrosis and their healthcare providers – A qualitative study

AU - Mattison, Graeme

AU - Canfell, Oliver j.

AU - Smith, Daniel

AU - Forrester, Doug

AU - Reid, David

AU - Töyräs, Juha

AU - Dobbins, Chelsea

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s)

PY - 2024/9/1

Y1 - 2024/9/1

N2 - Background: Wearables hold potential to improve chronic disease self-management in conditions like cystic fibrosis (CF) through remote monitoring, early detection of illness and motivation. Little is known about the acceptability and sustainability of integrating wearables into routine care from the perspectives of people with CF (pwCF) and their treating clinicians. Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with adult pwCF and focus groups comprising members of a CF multidisciplinary team (MDT) were conducted at a specialist CF centre in Australia. A phenomenological orientation underpinned the study. Inductive thematic analysis was performed using the Framework method. The study adhered to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist. Results: Nine pwCF and eight members of a CF MDT, representing six clinical disciplines, participated in the study. Eight themes were inductively generated from the data, of which four were identified from each group. PwCF valued wearables for providing real-time data to motivate healthy behaviours and support shared goal-setting with healthcare providers. Wearables did not influence adherence to CF-specific self-management practices and had some hardware limitations. Members of the CF MDT recognised potential benefits of remote monitoring and shared goal-setting, but advised caution regarding data accuracy, generating patient anxiety in certain personality traits, and lack of evidence supporting use in CF self-management. Conclusions: Perspectives on integrating wearables into CF care were cautiously optimistic, with emerging risks related to patient anxiety and lack of evidence moderating acceptance.

AB - Background: Wearables hold potential to improve chronic disease self-management in conditions like cystic fibrosis (CF) through remote monitoring, early detection of illness and motivation. Little is known about the acceptability and sustainability of integrating wearables into routine care from the perspectives of people with CF (pwCF) and their treating clinicians. Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with adult pwCF and focus groups comprising members of a CF multidisciplinary team (MDT) were conducted at a specialist CF centre in Australia. A phenomenological orientation underpinned the study. Inductive thematic analysis was performed using the Framework method. The study adhered to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist. Results: Nine pwCF and eight members of a CF MDT, representing six clinical disciplines, participated in the study. Eight themes were inductively generated from the data, of which four were identified from each group. PwCF valued wearables for providing real-time data to motivate healthy behaviours and support shared goal-setting with healthcare providers. Wearables did not influence adherence to CF-specific self-management practices and had some hardware limitations. Members of the CF MDT recognised potential benefits of remote monitoring and shared goal-setting, but advised caution regarding data accuracy, generating patient anxiety in certain personality traits, and lack of evidence supporting use in CF self-management. Conclusions: Perspectives on integrating wearables into CF care were cautiously optimistic, with emerging risks related to patient anxiety and lack of evidence moderating acceptance.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85196720295&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2024.105532

DO - 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2024.105532

M3 - Article

SN - 1386-5056

VL - 189

JO - International Journal of Medical Informatics

JF - International Journal of Medical Informatics

M1 - 105532

ER -