Heart Center, Cheng Hsin General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
School of Nursing, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2020 Aug 19;8(8):e18999. doi: 10.2196/18999.
Heart transplantation (HTx) is the most effective treatment for end-stage heart failure patients. After transplantation, patients face physiological, psychological, social, and other health care problems. Mobile health (mHealth) apps can change the delivery of conventional health care to ubiquitous care and improve health care quality. However, a dearth of mHealth apps exists for patients with HTx worldwide, including in Taiwan.
The aim of this study was to investigate the information needed and to develop a preliminary framework for an mHealth app for post-HTx patients.
A qualitative approach with individual in-depth interviews was conducted at a heart center in the regional hospital of northern Taiwan from June to November 2017. Patients that had undergone HTx and their health professionals were recruited for purposeful sampling. A semistructured interview guideline was used for individual interviews and transcribed. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis.
A total of 21 subjects, including 17 patients and 4 health professionals, were recruited for the study. The following five major themes were identified: reminding, querying, experience sharing, diet, and expert consulting. Minor themes included a desire to use the app with artificial intelligence and integration with professional management.
An intelligent mHealth app that addresses the five main themes and integrates the processes of using a mobile app could facilitate HTx self-management for Taiwanese patients.
心脏移植（HTx）是治疗终末期心力衰竭患者的最有效方法。移植后，患者面临生理、心理、社会和其他医疗保健问题。移动健康（mHealth）应用程序可以将传统医疗保健转变为无处不在的医疗保健，并提高医疗保健质量。然而，全世界包括台湾在内的 HTx 患者的 mHealth 应用程序都很匮乏。
本研究旨在调查患者的信息需求，并为 HTx 后患者的 mHealth 应用程序开发一个初步框架。
2017 年 6 月至 11 月，在台湾北部地区医院的心脏中心采用定性方法进行个体深入访谈。我们对接受过 HTx 的患者及其医疗保健专业人员进行了有针对性的抽样。采用半结构式访谈指南进行个体访谈并进行转录。采用主题分析进行数据分析。
共纳入 21 名受试者，包括 17 名患者和 4 名医疗保健专业人员。确定了以下五个主要主题：提醒、查询、经验分享、饮食和专家咨询。次要主题包括使用具有人工智能的应用程序和与专业管理集成的愿望。
一个智能的 mHealth 应用程序，可以解决五个主要主题并整合使用移动应用程序的流程，可以促进台湾患者的 HTx 自我管理。
