Factors Affecting Patient and Physician Engagement in Remote Health Care for Heart Failure: Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: Adult chronic heart failure mainly affects an elderly population with multiple comorbidities that often require frequent medical visits to prevent poor health outcomes. However, the heart failure disease process reduces their independence by reducing mobility, exercise tolerance, and cognitive decline. Remote care technologies can bridge the gap in care for these patients by allowing them to be followed up within the comfort of their home and encourage their self-care. However, patients, carers, and health care professionals need to engage with the technology for it to be useful. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review explores qualitative primary studies of remote care technologies used in heart failure, to determine the factors that affect user engagement with the technology. This is explored from the perspective of patients, carers, and health care professionals. METHODS: Relevant studies published between January 1, 1990, and September 19, 2020, were identified from EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. These studies were then synthesized using thematic analysis. Relevant user experiences with remote care were extracted using line-by-line coding. These codes were summarized into secondary codes and core concepts, which were further merged into overarching themes that encapsulate user experience with remote care. RESULTS: The review included 47 studies, which led to the generation of 5 overarching themes that affect engagement: (1) “Convenience” relates to time saved by the intervention; (2) “Clinical Care” relates to perceived quality of care and health outcomes; (3) “Communication” involves feedback and interaction between patients, staff, and carers; (4) “Education” concerns the tailored information provided; and (5) “Ease of Use” relates to accessibility and technical barriers to engagement. Each theme was applied to each user base of patient, carer, and health care professional in a different manner. CONCLUSIONS: The 5 themes identified highlight aspects of remote care that facilitate engagement, and should be considered in both future design and trials evaluating these technologies.