New Technologies for Treatment Compliance

Discussion board response:
Slevin, P., Kessie, T., Cullen, J., Butler, M. W., Donnelly, S. C., & Caulfield, B. (2019). A qualitative study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patient perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to adopting digital health technology. Digital Health, 5, 2055207619871729–2055207619871729. https://doi(dot)org/10.1177/2055207619871729 (Links to an external site.)
Describe the value of the qualitative research findings related to the National Practice Problem.
The National Practice Problem of COPD leads more easily to quantitative research than qualitative research. After some digging, a study was found based on two Dublin University Hospitals that interviewed patients with COPD (Slevin, 2019). The study evaluated possible barriers that would keep current patients with respiratory illnesses from utilizing new technology to help manage their illness. As a qualitative survey, the study participants were interviewed one on one and their answers were looked at to determine the results. There were various results noted. One prominent theme was the previous knowledge that the patient had on technology. The varying age range of the participants most likely aligned to the variety in the comfort level of technology. Technology can help patients manage chronic disease processes, but compliance is a challenge (Velardo et al., 2017). This result shows that in the future, DHT should be introduced on an individualized basis with special considerations to those patients who are not as comfortable with technology. Another finding was a request for a support group to allow multiple users of certain equipment to communicate and help each other through the learning process. This study showed that the use of digital health technology to assist in managing COPD patients would be beneficial if presented to patients in a way that they understand and can manage independently.