Understanding factors that inhibit or promote the utilization of telecare in chronic lung disease.

OBJECTIVES

To perform a process evaluation of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of home telecare for the management of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), using the normalization process model (NPM) as an explanatory framework.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were carried out with patients (n = 9) and nurses (n = 11) participating in a RCT. A framework approach to data analysis was used.

RESULTS

The telecare service did not provide an interactional advantage for the nurses providing this service and did not fit with the nurses' views of the most appropriate or preferred use of their skills. The telecare service seemed unlikely to become normalized as part of routine healthcare delivery, because the nursing team lacked confidence that it was a safe way to provide healthcare in this context and it was not perceived as improving efficiency.

DISCUSSION

The NPM effectively mapped onto the study findings and explained those factors that inhibited the routine delivery of COPD services by telecare.