eHealth in Self-Managing at a Distance Patients with COPD

Shifting Responsibilities: Developing a Pan-European Service Model for an eHealth Technology Supporting Self-Management of People with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Comorbidities

Introduction

Active participation of patients in their care via self-management is an important pillar to manage chronic conditions. Self-management education and continuous support are needed to improve patients' confidence to take such active role. One way to do this is through eHealth technologies. However, those technologies can only be successful when actively used in daily practice and when integrated in overall care. Therefore, this study investigated how a self-management eHealth technology could be implemented that emphasises the active role of patients in their care.

Methods

The service modelling method was utilized as implementation strategy. The design process consisted of five phases with salient stakeholders and consortium members of a European project to develop the service model. Studies with salient stakeholders were carried out in three different countries (Italy, Estonia, the Netherlands). A combination between face-to-face and online methods facilitated the participatory design process.

Results

Due to the pan-European context, different stakeholders in the three countries were identified. Research nurses and case managers were not yet established in practice but once implemented, expected to contribute to optimal implementation. During service modelling, a crucial step was revealed: providing self-management training before technology use to let patient familiarise with the concept of taking an active role. As HCPs felt that they were not necessarily equipped to guide patients in terms of self-management, they also should have access to such self-management training.

Conclusion

By demonstrating a way for implementation while emphasising patients' active role, we also showed the complexity of the method in two ways. First, by demonstrating the fine line between the descriptive and prescriptive model. Thus, showcasing the need to recognize that prescriptive models may be hampered by the delay in changing work practices. Second, by highlighting the importance of identifying country-specific differences in the pan-European context, revealing that service modelling is not a one-size-fits-all approach.

COVID-19 teleassistance and teleconsultation: a matched case-control study (MIRATO project, Lombardy, Italy)

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine has been recognised as a powerful modality to shorten the length of hospital stay and to free up beds for the sicker patients. Lombardy, and in particular the areas of Bergamo, Brescia, and Milan, was one of the regions in Europe most hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary aim of the MIRATO project was to compare the incidence of severe events (hospital readmissions and mortality) in the first three months after discharge between COVID-19 patients followed by a Home-Based Teleassistance and Teleconsultation (HBTT group) program and those discharged home without Telemedicine support (non-HBTT group).

Methods

The study was designed as a matched case-control study. The non-HBTT patients were matched with the HBTT patients for sex, age, presence of COVID-19 pneumonia and number of comorbidities. After discharge, the HBTT group underwent a telecare nursing and specialist teleconsultation program at home for three months, including monitoring of vital signs and symptoms. Further, in this group we analysed clinical data, patients' satisfaction with the program, and quality of life.

Results

Four hundred twenty-two patients per group were identified for comparison. The median age in both groups was 70 ± 11 years (62% males). One or more comorbidities were present in 86% of the HBTT patients and 89% in the non-HBTT group (p = ns). The total number of severe events was 17 (14 hospitalizations and 3 deaths) in the HBTT group and 40 (26 hospitalizations and 16 deaths) in the non-HBTT group (p = 0.0007). The risk of hospital readmission or death after hospital discharge was significantly lower in HBTT patients (Log-rank Test p = 0.0002). In the HBTT group, during the 3-month follow-up, 5,355 teleassistance contacts (13 ± 4 per patient) were performed. The number of patients with one or more symptoms declined significantly: from 338 (78%) to 183 (45%) (p < 0.00001). Both the physical (ΔPCS12: 5.9 ± 11.4) component and the mental (ΔMCS12: 4.4 ± 12.7) component of SF-12 improved significantly (p < 0.0001). Patient satisfaction with the program was very high in all participants.

Conclusions

Compared to usual care, an HBTT program can reduce severe events (hospital admissions/mortality) at 3-months from discharge and improve symptoms and quality of life.

Clinical trial registration

www.ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04898179.

Experiences of Using an Electronic Health Tool Among Health Care Professionals Involved in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Management: Qualitative Analysis

BACKGROUND

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common and deadliest chronic diseases of the 21st century. eHealth tools are seen as a promising way of supporting health care professionals in providing evidence-based COPD care, for example, by reinforcing information and interventions provided to the patients and providing easier access and support to the health care professional themselves. Still, knowledge is scarce on the experience of using eHealth tools from the perspective of the health care professional involved in COPD management.

OBJECTIVE

The study explored the experiences of using an eHealth tool among health care professionals that worked with patients with COPD in their daily clinical practice.

METHODS

This exploratory qualitative study is part of a process evaluation in a parallel group, controlled, pragmatic pilot trial. Semistructured interviews were performed with 10 health care professionals 3 and 12 months after getting access to an eHealth tool, the COPD Web. The COPD Web, developed using cocreation, is an interactive web-based platform that aims to help health care professionals provide health-promoting strategies. Data from the interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach.

RESULTS

The main results reflected health care professionals' experiences in 3 categories: receiving competence support and adjusting practice, improving quality of care, and efforts required for implementation. These categories highlighted that using an eHealth tool such as the COPD Web was experienced to provide knowledge support for health care professionals that led to adaptation and facilitation of working procedures and person-centered care. Taken together, these changes were perceived to improve the quality of care through enhanced patient contact and encouragement of interprofessional collaboration. In addition, health care professionals expressed that patients using the COPD Web were better equipped to tackle their disease and adhered better to provided treatment, increasing their self-management ability. However, structural and external barriers bar the successful implementation of an eHealth tool in daily praxis.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is among the first to explore experiences of using an eHealth tool among health care professionals involved in COPD management. Our novel findings highlight that using an eHealth tool such as the COPD Web may improve the quality of care for patients with COPD (eg, by providing knowledge support for health care professionals and adapting and facilitating working procedures). Our results also indicate that an eHealth tool fosters collaborative interactions between patients and health care professionals, which explains why eHealth is a valuable means of encouraging well-informed and autonomous patients. However, structural and external barriers requiring time, support, and education must be addressed to ensure that an eHealth tool can be successfully implemented in daily praxis.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02696187; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02696187.