JMIR Form Res. 2021 Apr 17. doi: 10.2196/25503. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) require more than the usual care management and coordination efforts from caregivers and health care providers (HCP). Health information and communication technologies can potentially facilitate these efforts in order to increase the quality of care received by CSHCN.
OBJECTIVE: In this study, we assessed the feasibility of a voice-enabled medical diary app (SpeakHealth) by investigating its potential use among caregivers and HCPs.
METHODS: Following a mixed methods approach, caregivers of CSHCN were interviewed (n=10) and surveyed (n=86) about their care management and communication technology use. Only interviewed participants were introduced to the SpeakHealth app prototype, and they tested the app during the interview session. In addition, we interviewed complex care HCPs (n=15) to understand their perception of the value of a home medical diary like the SpeakHealth app. Quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics and correlational analysis. Theoretical thematic analysis was used for analyzing qualitative data.
RESULTS: Survey results reported a positive attitude towards voice enabled technology and features, however there was no strong correlation among measured items. Caregivers identified communication, information sharing, tracking medication and appointments as fairly and highly important features in the app. Qualitative analysis revealed 2 overarching themes: “Enablers and barriers in care communication” and “Enablers and barriers in communication technologies”. Subthemes included parent roles, care communication technologies and challenges. HCPs found the SpeakHealth app promising for timely information collection that could be available for sharing with the health system. Overall, the findings demonstrated a variety of needs and challenges for caregivers of CSHCN as well as opportunities for voice interactive medical diary apps in care management and coordination. Caregivers fundamentally look for better information sharing and communication with HCP. Healthcare and communication technologies can potentially improve care communications and coordination addressing the needs.
CONCLUSIONS: We believe the perspectives of caregivers and providers suggested both benefits and challenges in using the SpeakHealth app for medical note-taking and health events tracking at home. Our findings could inform researchers and developers about the potential development and use of a voice-enabled medical diary app.
PMID:33865233 | DOI:10.2196/25503
