Center for Health Services Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Rüdersdorf, Germany.
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Heart Center Brandenburg, Faculty of Health Sciences, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Bernau, Germany.
JMIR Form Res. 2024 Sep 27;8:e56162. doi: 10.2196/56162.
BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, affecting over a billion people worldwide. Mobile health (mHealth) apps have emerged as effective tools for managing hypertension, offering capabilities for monitoring blood pressure, fostering lifestyle changes, and improving treatment adherence. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore patient-users' perspectives on the hypertension care mHealth app Hypertension.APP, focusing on its accessibility, expected benefits, potential risks, and role in hypertension management in Germany. METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted involving semistructured interviews with 20 patient-users of a hypertension care mHealth app, Hypertension.APP. Participants were recruited between January and June 2023 using purposive sampling. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Participants primarily discovered the app independently, driven by recent hypertension diagnoses and insufficient information from health care professionals regarding effective self-management strategies for their blood pressure. They valued the app for its continuous monitoring and feedback capabilities, aiding in understanding their condition and making lifestyle adjustments. Risks were perceived as minimal, mainly concerning data privacy and potential overreliance on the app. The app became integral to patient-users' hypertension management by offering consistent information and support. The integration into formal health care was limited, as patient-users felt that health care professionals did not accept the use of the technology or might have even felt intimidated to use it. CONCLUSIONS: Among the sample studied, mHealth apps like Hypertension.APP were valued for their continuous monitoring and educational content, aiding in hypertension management. The findings suggest potential benefits of mHealth apps for effective hypertension care among patients who are health- and digitally literate as well as self-effective. There is a critical need for better integration of these apps into routine health care practices, as perceived by the app users. Given the small and specific sample of this qualitative study, further quantitative research with a broader and more varied participant group is necessary to validate these findings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien DRKS00029761; https://tinyurl.com/r33ru22s.
背景:高血压是心血管疾病的一个主要危险因素,影响着全球超过 10 亿人。移动健康 (mHealth) 应用程序已成为管理高血压的有效工具,提供了监测血压、促进生活方式改变和提高治疗依从性的功能。
目的:本研究旨在探讨患者用户对高血压管理 mHealth 应用程序 Hypertension.APP 的看法,重点关注其在德国的可及性、预期效益、潜在风险以及在高血压管理中的作用。
方法:本研究采用定性研究方法,对 20 名使用高血压管理 mHealth 应用程序 Hypertension.APP 的患者用户进行了半结构式访谈。参与者是在 2023 年 1 月至 6 月期间通过目的性抽样招募的。对逐字记录进行了定性内容分析。
结果:参与者主要是在最近被诊断出患有高血压和医疗保健专业人员提供的有关其血压有效自我管理策略的信息不足的情况下,独立发现该应用程序的。他们重视该应用程序的连续监测和反馈功能,这有助于他们了解自己的病情并进行生活方式调整。风险被认为是最小的,主要涉及数据隐私和对该应用程序过度依赖的潜在风险。该应用程序成为患者用户高血压管理不可或缺的一部分,提供了一致的信息和支持。但该应用程序与正式医疗保健的整合有限,因为患者用户认为医疗保健专业人员不接受该技术的使用,甚至可能感到使用该技术有压力。
结论:在研究样本中,像 Hypertension.APP 这样的 mHealth 应用程序因其连续监测和教育内容而受到重视,有助于高血压管理。研究结果表明,对于那些健康素养和数字素养高、自我效能感强的患者,mHealth 应用程序在有效管理高血压方面具有潜在益处。正如应用程序用户所认为的那样,迫切需要更好地将这些应用程序整合到常规医疗保健实践中。鉴于这项定性研究的样本较小且特定,需要进一步开展具有更广泛和更多样化参与者群体的定量研究,以验证这些发现。
试验注册:德国临床试验注册中心 DRKS00029761;https://tinyurl.com/r33ru22s。
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