Lo Zhiwen Joseph, Chong Bryan, Tan Elaine, Ooi Desmond, Liew Huiling, Hoi Wai Han, Cho Yuan Teng, Wu Kyle, Surendra Naren Kumar, Mammadova Maleyka, Nah Audrey, Goh Victor, Car Josip
Vascular Surgery Service, Department of Surgery, Woodlands Health, Singapore.
Centre for Population Health Sciences, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Digit Health. 2023 Jun 21;9:20552076231183544. doi: 10.1177/20552076231183544. eCollection 2023 Jan-Dec.
Digital health has recently gained a foothold in monitoring and improving diabetes care. We aim to explore the views of patients, carers and healthcare providers (HCPs) regarding the use of a novel patient-owned wound surveillance application as part of outpatient management of patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs).
Semi-structured online interviews were conducted with patients, carers and HCPs in wound care for DFUs. The participants were recruited from a primary care polyclinic network and two tertiary hospitals in Singapore, within the same healthcare cluster. Purposive maximum variation sampling was used to select participants with differing attributes to ensure heterogeneity. Common themes relating to the wound imaging app were captured.
A total of 20 patients, 5 carers and 20 HCPs participated in the qualitative study. None of the participants have used a wound imaging app before. Regarding a patient-owned wound surveillance app, all were open and receptive to the system and workflow for use in DFU care. Four major themes emerged from patients and carers: (1) technology, (2) application features and usability, (3) feasibility of using the wound imaging application and (4) logistics of care. Four major themes were identified from HCPs: (1) attitudes towards wound imaging app, (2) preferences regarding functionality, (3) perceived challenges for patients/carers and (4) perceived barriers for HCPs.
Our study highlighted several barriers and facilitators from patients, carers and HCPs regarding the use of a patient-owned wound surveillance app. These findings demonstrate the potential of digital health and areas to improve and tailor a DFU wound app suitable for implementation in the local population.
数字健康最近已在糖尿病护理的监测和改善方面站稳脚跟。我们旨在探讨患者、护理人员和医疗保健提供者（HCPs）对于使用一种新型患者自主伤口监测应用程序作为糖尿病足溃疡（DFUs）患者门诊管理一部分的看法。
对DFUs伤口护理方面的患者、护理人员和HCPs进行了半结构化在线访谈。参与者从新加坡同一医疗保健集群内的一家初级保健综合诊所网络和两家三级医院招募。采用目的最大变异抽样法选择具有不同属性的参与者，以确保异质性。捕捉与伤口成像应用程序相关的共同主题。
共有20名患者、5名护理人员和20名HCPs参与了定性研究。此前没有参与者使用过伤口成像应用程序。对于患者自主的伤口监测应用程序，所有人对该系统及其在DFU护理中的使用流程持开放和接受态度。患者和护理人员提出了四个主要主题：（1）技术，（2）应用功能和可用性，（3）使用伤口成像应用程序的可行性，（4）护理后勤。从HCPs中确定了四个主要主题：（1）对伤口成像应用程序的态度，（2）对功能的偏好，（3）患者/护理人员面临的感知挑战，（4）HCPs面临的感知障碍。
我们的研究突出了患者、护理人员和HCPs在使用患者自主伤口监测应用程序方面的几个障碍和促进因素。这些发现证明了数字健康的潜力以及改进和定制适合在当地人群中实施的DFU伤口应用程序的领域。
