Development of an eHealth programme for self-management of persistent physical symptoms: a qualitative study on user needs in general practice

Stigmatisation in medical encounters for persistent physical symptoms/functional disorders: Scoping review and thematic synthesis

OBJECTIVE

To conduct a scoping review of stigma in medical encounters for persistent physical symptoms and functional disorders (PPS/FD). Stigma is a social attribute that links a person to an undesirable characteristic. It has been extensively studied in relation to mental illness but less so in relation to PPS/FD.

METHODS

We followed PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines for scoping reviews. Searches for were designed using the SPIDER tool. We used descriptive and thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The searches identified 68 articles, of which 32 were eligible for inclusion. 31 out of the 32 studies used a qualitative methodology. 8 studies used an explicit definition of stigma, of which 6 used the Goffman (1963) definition. Only 2 studies directly examined clinical consultations, the remainder relied on recalled accounts by patients or professionals. Descriptive analysis identified the focus of the studies included: patient-physician interaction (n = 13); health care professionals' perceptions (n = 7); experiences of illness/stigma (n = 6); broader meaning of illness (n = 3); and patients' experiences of stigma in health care consultations (n = 3).

CONCLUSION

Patients experience stigmatisation in consultations for a wide range of PPS/FD. This suggests the presence of structural stigmatisation.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

There is a need for effective stigma reduction strategies in consultations about persistent physical symptoms.

Clinical skills development for healthcare practitioners working with patients with persistent physical symptoms (PPS) in healthcare settings: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

BACKGROUND

The complexity and uncertainty around Persistent Physical Symptoms (PPS) make it difficult to diagnose and treat, particularly under time-constrained consultations and limited knowledge. Brief interventions that can be utilised in day-to-day practice are necessary to improve ways of managing PPS. This review aimed to establish (i) what training primary and secondary healthcare practitioners have undertaken to develop their clinical skills when working with PPS, (ii) what training techniques or theoretical models have been used within these interventions, and (iii) how effective was the training.

METHOD

A systematic literature search was undertaken on eight databases to identify professional development interventions for healthcare practitioners working with PPS, were of any study design, and at a minimum were single measure studies (i.e., training outcome alone). Studies were assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) and narratively synthesised.

RESULTS

Despite high methodological heterogeneity across the six included studies, they all aimed to improve healthcare practitioners' communication skills through educational (theory, awareness, attitudes, assessment, treatment, and management of PPS) and experiential (role play) learning.

CONCLUSIONS

The review findings demonstrate that developing healthcare practitioners' communicative behaviours led to increased confidence and self-efficacy when working with PPS, which facilitated improved consultations and improvements on some patient outcomes. Barriers to the uptake of training programmes and implementation into daily clinical practice are discussed, including the need for PPS to be formally implemented into undergraduate teaching and post-qualification continuous professional development.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This review was registered at PROSPERO [CRD42022315631] prior to the review starting.

Public and patient involvement in the development of an internet-based guide for persistent somatic symptoms (GUIDE.PSS): A qualitative study on the needs of those affected

BACKGROUND

Persistent somatic symptoms (PSS) frequently remain under-treated in health care settings. Evidence-based services that lead affected individuals to early guideline-based care are currently missing. This study aimed to identify the needs of those affected concerning an internet-based guide. The second aim was to evaluate public and patient involvement (PPI).

METHODS

Participants experiencing PSS for at least 6 months were recruited via hospitals, psychotherapeutic practices and self-help organizations. Qualitative data were gathered via ideation discussions and prioritization tasks. Thematic analysis was conducted to gain insight on the needs of people with lived experiences. PPI was quantitatively evaluated with the Public and Patient Engagement Evaluation Tool.

RESULTS

A total of 12 individuals participated (eight females, ages 22-66 years, duration of symptoms 1-43 years). Participants wanted to feel more supported, validated, in control and engaged with managing their health. Content-related preferences included education, self-help, social support and contact addresses. The majority of participants (>90%) experienced their involvement as worthwhile.

CONCLUSIONS

To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies describing PPI in intervention development for PSS. The involvement was perceived as a valuable contribution to the development process.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Adults with lived experiences were involved at the level of collaboration through the establishment of a participatory research team (PRT) and at the level of consultation through a workshop series, including one of the coauthors. They were involved in developing and validating intervention material and checking data interpretation.

Managing persistent physical symptoms when being social and active is the norm: a qualitative study among young people in Denmark

BACKGROUND

An increasing number of young people in Western countries report persistent physical symptoms (PPS). PPS may disturb everyday activities and they may have negative consequences for later adult mental and physical health. Still little is known about how young people handle PPS in their everyday lives. This study examines how young people with PPS attempt to manage their symptoms while staying engaged in their daily activities and what is at stake in these attempts.

METHODS

This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with 11 young people with PPS. Photo-elicitation was used to capture the participants' experiences as they occurred in their everyday lives. The data material was analysed using a thematic analysis approach, as well as theory on subjectivity and social acceleration.

RESULTS

The participants employed alleviating measures and tried to find patterns between their activities and the severity of their symptoms in order to adjust their activity level. Decisions not to participate in social activities were accompanied by feelings of missing out. The participants' attempts at adjusting their activity level was challenged by norms of being social and active, and they experienced difficulty prioritizing their activities and explaining their symptoms to others.

CONCLUSION

PPS shaped the participants' sense of how to act towards their bodies and social relationships in interaction with societal norms. The participants' subject formation and symptom experiences should thus be seen as a biosocial process.

Preferences of Patients With Musculoskeletal Disorders Regarding the Timing and Channel of eHealth and Factors Influencing Its Use: Mixed Methods Study

BACKGROUND

Implementation of eHealth is progressing slowly. In-depth insight into patients' preferences and needs regarding eHealth might improve its use.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to describe when patients want to use eHealth, how patients want to communicate and receive information digitally, and what factors influence the use of eHealth in clinical practice.

METHODS

A multimethod study was conducted. Two meetings of ~5.5 hours with plenary information sessions and focus groups were held with 22 patients from the rheumatology, orthopedics, and rehabilitation departments of a Dutch hospital specialized in musculoskeletal disorders. Assignments were performed during the focus groups in which qualitative (eg, semistructured interview questions) and quantitative (ie, voting and ranking factors) data were collected.

RESULTS

The way patients want to use eHealth varies between patients and moments of a patient's care pathway. Patients' digital channel preferences depended on the need for interaction with a health care provider (HCP). The interaction need is in turn influenced by the degree to which information or communication is specific to an individual patient and leads to consequences for the patient. The 5 most important factors influencing the use of eHealth were access to medical information (eg, electronic health records), perceived control over disease management, correctness and completeness of information, data security, and access to information or an HCP at any time. The 5 least important factors influencing eHealth use were help with using digital devices, having internet or equipment, digital skills, attitude or emotions toward eHealth, and societal benefits.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients identified opportunities for using eHealth during all moments of their care pathway. However, preferences for eHealth varied between patients and phases in the care pathway. As a consequence, eHealth should be tailored to fit individual patients' preferences but also the need for interaction regarding different topics by offering a variety of digital channels with a gradient of interaction possibilities. Furthermore, digital skills and access to the internet might become less important to focus on in the future. Improving eHealth use by patients may be achieved by providing patients access to correct and safe (medical) information and more control over their care.

Designing and Developing an eHealth Program for Patients With Persistent Physical Symptoms: Usability Study

BACKGROUND

Patients with persistent physical symptoms presenting in primary care are often affected by multiple symptoms and reduced functioning. The medical and societal costs of these patients are high, and there is a need for new interventions tailored to both the patients and health care system.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine the usability of an unguided, self-help treatment program, "My Symptoms," developed to assist patients and general practitioners in symptom management.

METHODS

In all, 11 users (4 patients with persistent physical symptoms and 7 laypeople) participated in web-based thinking-aloud interviews involving the performance of predefined tasks in the program. Thematic analysis was used to categorize the severity of usability issues. General usability heuristics were cross-referenced with the usability issues.

RESULTS

The analysis identified important usability issues related to functionality, navigation, and content. The study shows how therapeutic knowledge in some cases was lost in the translation of face-to-face therapy to a digital format. The user testing helped uncover how the functionality of the digital elements and general navigation of the program played a huge part in locating and accessing the needed treatment. Examples of redesign to mediate the therapeutic value in the digital format involving health care professionals, web developers, and users are provided. The study also highlights the differences of involving patients and laypeople in the interviews.

CONCLUSIONS

Taking the experience of common symptoms as a point of departure, patients and laypeople contributed to finding usability issues on program functionality, navigation, and content to improve the program and make the treatment more accessible to users.

A unified Internet-delivered exposure treatment for undifferentiated somatic symptom disorder: single-group prospective feasibility trial

BACKGROUND

Exposure-based psychological treatment appears to have beneficial effects for several patient groups that commonly report distress related to persistent somatic symptoms. Yet exposure-based treatment is rarely offered in routine care. This may be because existing treatment protocols have been developed for specific symptom clusters or specific unwanted responses to somatic symptoms, and many clinics do not have the resources to offer all these specialised treatments in parallel. In preparation for a randomised controlled trial, we investigated the feasibility of a new and unified Internet-delivered exposure treatment (OSF.io: cnbwj) for somatic symptom disorder regardless of somatic symptom domain (e.g. cardiopulmonary, fatigue, gastrointestinal, pain), combination of unwanted emotions (e.g. anger, anxiety, fear, shame) and whether somatic symptoms are medically explained or not. We hypothesised that a wide spectrum of subgroups would show interest, that the treatment would be rated as credible, that adherence would be adequate, that the measurement strategy would be acceptable and that there would be no serious adverse events.

METHODS

Single-group prospective cohort study where 33 self-referred adults with undifferentiated DSM-5 somatic symptom disorder took part in 8 weeks of unified Internet-delivered exposure treatment delivered via a web platform hosted by a medical university. Self-report questionnaires were administered online before treatment, each week during treatment, post treatment and 3 months after treatment.

RESULTS

Participants reported a broad spectrum of symptoms. The Credibility/Expectancy mean score was 34.5 (SD = 7.0, range: 18-47). Participants completed 91% (150/165) of all modules and 97% of the participants (32/33) completed at least two exposure exercises. The average participant rated the adequacy of the rationale as 8.4 (SD = 1.5) on a scale from 0 to 10. The post-treatment assessment was completed by 97% (32/33), and 84% (27/32) rated the measurement strategy as acceptable. The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire mean score was 25.3 (SD = 4.7, range: 17-32) and no serious adverse events were reported. Reductions in subjective somatic symptom burden (the Patient Health Questionnaire 15; d = 0.90) and symptom preoccupation (the somatic symptom disorder 12; d = 1.17) were large and sustained.

CONCLUSIONS

Delivering a unified Internet-delivered exposure-based treatment protocol for individuals with undifferentiated somatic symptom disorder appears to be feasible.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04511286 . Registered on August 13, 2020.

Functional somatic symptoms in youths in general practice: A cross-sectional study on prevalence, clinical management and perceived burden

OBJECTIVE

Functional somatic symptoms (FSS) may progress into a functional disorder if poorly managed, which may have serious implications. This cross-sectional study describes the management of youths compared to adults in general practice and estimates the prevalence of FSS in youths in this setting by comparing consultation-related aspects between youths with FSS and 1) youths with a specific diagnosis and 2) adults with FSS.

METHODS

We used data from a Danish survey (2008-2009), including 3295 face-to-face consultations between GPs and patients aged 15-64 years. Patients were divided into youths (15-24 years) and adults (25-64 years) and then into subgroups according to the GPs' classifications: 1) specific diagnosis, 2) resolving symptom and 3) FSS. Logistic regression analysis was used for all comparisons, and estimates were adjusted for gender, concomitant chronic disorder and GP cluster.

RESULTS

The GPs more frequently ensured continuity of care in adults (AOR:0.75, 95%CI:0.61-0.92, p < 0.01) and perceived youths as less time consuming (AOR:0.58, 95%CI: 0.43-0.77, p < 0.01) and less burdensome (AOR:0.60; 95%CI: 0.45-0.81, p < 0.01) compared to adults. FSS prevalence was 4.4% in youths and 9.0% in adults. However, GPs perceived youths with FSS as more burdensome (AOR:7.77, 95%CI:2.93-20.04, p < 0.01) and more time consuming (AOR:3.98, 95%CI:1.42-11.12, p < 0.01) than youths with a specific diagnosis. No significant differences were found between youths and adults with FSS, respectively, in regards to perceived burden and consultation time.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate age-related variations in the prevalence and clinical management of FSS in general practice. The GPs perceived both youths and adults with FSS time consuming, which underlines a need for supportive management strategies.

Expectations of an Online-Self-Management Program for Rheumatoid Arthritis

This qualitative descriptive study aimed to explore expectations of patients and healthcare experts for an online self-management program for rheumatoid arthritis. Participants were recruited from rheumatology clinics, medical centers, and universities in Taiwan. Individual face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients (n = 16) and healthcare experts (n = 7). Content analysis of the interview data resulted in five subthemes for expectations of an online self-management program: information about how the disease trajectory would impact future health status, availability of opportunities for self-monitoring, opportunities to interact with fellow patients and healthcare providers, simplicity and ease-of-use of the program, and methods to facilitate patient-motivation. These subthemes formulated two overarching themes: content and format. An online self-management program for patients with rheumatoid arthritis should provide evidence-based information about disease variables and behaviors aligned with the specific needs of the individual and adopt strategies that encourage and increase motivation and confidence.