mHealth use in older people with heart failure

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): 3.9 million older Americans have heart failure (HF) and this number is only expected to increase with the rapid growth of the =65 population. In 2012, the total cost of treating HF was $30.7 billion, 80% of which was spent on hospitalizations, and older HF patients made up over 70% of these HF-related hospitalizations. mHealth, or the use of mobile technologies to support the achievement of health objectives, has the potential to revolutionize HF self-management. In people with HF, mHealth has already been shown to improve HF self- management, decrease hospitalizations, improve quality of life, and decrease mortality. However, despite the immense potential of mHealth to significantly improve HF self-management, very little is known regarding individual characteristics, attitudes, and perceptions that influence adoption of mHealth, especially in the older population, who are known to be slower to adopt new technology compared to their younger counterparts. In order to facilitate the implementation of mHealth in HF self-management, it is essential to examine potential facilitators and barriers to its adoption. The purpose of the proposed study is to examine facilitators and barriers that influence intention to adopt mHealth among older people with HF. The specific aims of the study are to: (1) examine the relationship between eHealth literacy, attitude towards technology, and perceptions of mHealth; (2) examine the relationship between perceptions about mHealth and intention to use mHealth; (3) explore the patients' perceptions of facilitators and barriers to mHealth adoption; and (4) describe the facilitators and barriers to mHealth adoption. Guided by the Technology Acceptance Model, which posits that intention is the strongest predictor of actual technology use; the study will use an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design to gain an in-depth understanding of the facilitators and barriers to mHealth adoption. Quota sampling will be used to recruit HF patients (=65y), cared for at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, for the quantitative strand of the study, where they will be asked to complete a survey. Purposive sampling of study participants, who expressed the least and the most intention to adopt mHealth in their response to the quantitative survey, will be used to select participants to be interviewed for the qualitative strand of the study. The proposed study is directly aligned with the National Institute of Nursing Research's (NINR) strategic plan to expand knowledge and application of health care technologies to facilitate decision support, self-management, and access to health care.