Abstract
Introduction Cardiovascular diseases are highly prevalent in the UK population,1 with quality of care negatively affected by accessibility and resource issues. Implementation of digital technologies into the cardiovascular care pathway has the potential to lighten the load on healthcare providers2 3; however, it is essential to embed the perspectives of clinicians.4
Aim To understand clinicians' experiences of diagnosing heart disease and their perspectives on the use of digital health tools for diagnosis.
Methods Online 1-to-1 interviews were conducted with 8 clinicians with experience in diagnosing heart disease across the UK, using a semi-structured topic guide designed to facilitate discussion surrounding their experience of making heart disease diagnoses and to gauge their perspective on the use of digital technologies within the cardiovascular care pathway. An inductive thematic analysis was applied to the data, using a coding framework to extract themes and sub-themes by the lead researcher, and subsequently validated by one independent researcher.
Results A total of 8 clinician interviews were conducted. Participants were aged 35-60 years, (mean = 48.5±9.05), 62.5% identified as White British and 37.5% were female. The sample included a combination of primary and secondary care physicians, including cardiology consultants and surgeons, GPs, and a locum speciality doctor in emergency care. Within the sample, 75% had more than 20 years of experience working with heart disease patients. Data were categorised into themes including, patient communication; time and resource limitations; patient barriers to access; reliability of medical technologies and data; accessibility issues with interactive devices; and challenges with patient engagement.
Conclusions The results of these interviews highlight several crucial factors to consider when developing a new technology to improve holistic diagnosis of heart disease, including interface personalisation, accessibility of technologies, and reliability of patient data and technology use. Future work building digital tools to improve the accuracy and efficiency of heart disease diagnosis can use the results of this study to create better-informed technologies with enhanced user experience and engagement.
Aim To understand clinicians' experiences of diagnosing heart disease and their perspectives on the use of digital health tools for diagnosis.
Methods Online 1-to-1 interviews were conducted with 8 clinicians with experience in diagnosing heart disease across the UK, using a semi-structured topic guide designed to facilitate discussion surrounding their experience of making heart disease diagnoses and to gauge their perspective on the use of digital technologies within the cardiovascular care pathway. An inductive thematic analysis was applied to the data, using a coding framework to extract themes and sub-themes by the lead researcher, and subsequently validated by one independent researcher.
Results A total of 8 clinician interviews were conducted. Participants were aged 35-60 years, (mean = 48.5±9.05), 62.5% identified as White British and 37.5% were female. The sample included a combination of primary and secondary care physicians, including cardiology consultants and surgeons, GPs, and a locum speciality doctor in emergency care. Within the sample, 75% had more than 20 years of experience working with heart disease patients. Data were categorised into themes including, patient communication; time and resource limitations; patient barriers to access; reliability of medical technologies and data; accessibility issues with interactive devices; and challenges with patient engagement.
Conclusions The results of these interviews highlight several crucial factors to consider when developing a new technology to improve holistic diagnosis of heart disease, including interface personalisation, accessibility of technologies, and reliability of patient data and technology use. Future work building digital tools to improve the accuracy and efficiency of heart disease diagnosis can use the results of this study to create better-informed technologies with enhanced user experience and engagement.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Heart 2023 |
| Publisher | BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Cardiovascular Society |
| Pages | A307-A308 |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Volume | 109 |
| Edition | Suppl 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published online - 18 Oct 2023 |
