| Self-care maintenance |
Overall, most participants thought that having an app “would be helpful.” “The app probably would be good. You could look, not only myself, [but] others that have different problems with their heart problem.” [Vet #8]
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| Education on daily HFa care |
Most participants thought that an app would help them gain knowledge about their condition. “That would probably make my life easier. You know, I’m curious about a lot of things and I would probably read it. I would look at it and then if I had [or] I thought I had something, I’d probably look it up.” [Vet #4] A few were not sure how useful an app would be: “I don’t think it would do much, to tell you the truth. Not right now, anyway.” [Vet #2]
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| How often to get education on HF |
Participants thought the frequency of receiving education should be determined by each person: “I think the person who was getting the App should have a choice to how often they want to get the information, how often they think they need the information. Do you need it every day or should it be every day or should it be weekly or should it be done monthly, bi-weekly or whatever? I think it’s gonna be an individual choice, not just a blanket App.” [Vet #4]
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| Support of medication adherence |
Some participants thought having an app could not only provide medication reminders but also provide education about medications: “Yes, that would be worthwhile, especially if you could use that app, [and say] ‘tell me about [a medication]’ and it would tell you.” [Vet #9] “If I had an app to do [learn about medications], the doctor would be thrilled, I'm sure.” [Vet #7] On the other hand, some participants thought medication reminders “… would get me somewhat upset.” Some who were being seen frequently by their cardiologist did not see the importance of using an app to support medication adherence. For these individuals, their frequent medical appointments were enough: “No, I doubt [the app would be useful]. I see the cardiologist like once a month.” [Vet #1]
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| Dietary restriction support |
The need for support to adhere to dietary restrictions (limiting sodium consumption and weight management) varied based on the participant’s level of involvement with health care services (eg, home telehealth and, nutrition courses offered at the HF clinic) and whether they were the primary cooks in their homes. Those involved in services preferred less support: “I have that Telehealth thing, …and every day that thing gives me messages about what to do about medications, about your diet, you know.” [Vet #1] Those who were not the primary cooks in their homes thought it might not help:“[M]y wife watch[es] everything that I eat.” [Vet #5] Some others stated the inclusion of dietary support, “Would be helpful. Especially like I said, I’m not educated at all in nutrition.” [Vet #9]
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| Goal setting for exercises |
When asked about setting goals for exercise, some participants mentioned that motivation played a major factor in their desire to set goals for exercise, saying things such as, “I’ve done reading, I just need the willpower to get through it,” and, “I just don't have the motivation to do it.” However, for some the desire to set goals was dependent on others: “I would welcome that [setting goals for exercise]... We started out great here, and then my wife started having problems with her back and sciatica. But I'm anticipating that that will get back on track when she completes a course of rehab and so on, but we don’t know about that, But it does inhibit my enthusiasm for getting out and around.” [Vet #7]
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| Stress reduction strategies (eg, meditation and breathing exercises) |
When asked about how useful it would be for an app to offer methods that can be used to relax or reduce stress, most participants did not find this feature helpful: “I think it’s definitely something that the individual should … be able to choose themselves, because I don’t want to be told what do to do relax.” [Vet #4]
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| Self-care monitoring |
Some participants thought there was utility in using an app to monitor and track symptoms: “I think that's a good idea [to be able to track symptoms].” [Vet #7] Others pointed to the issue of having to manually input data into an app as being a deterrent to self-monitoring: “Oh, that’s just more work for myself, isn’t it? I mean I would have to concentrate every day and put a) my weight in, b) my blood sugar, c) my blood pressure… So that’s 15 minutes [that] would be just fooling around with that stuff.” [Vet #4]
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| Self-care management |
When asked about the ability to review previous symptoms, one participant remarked “… your memory plays tricks on you.” Having the ability to review previous changes in symptoms was acceptable because: “if you get the same symptom again and it happened a month ago, it would be good to find out what you did, instead of writing it down and trying to look for it through paperwork, [which is] what I did last time.” [Vet #3] Others were skeptical about how previous information could support decision decision-making and actions on future changes in symptoms: “I don’t think my phone can tell me what’s wrong with my heart. I really don’t. What kind of App can you put on your phone that tells me that my… blood pressure is running high?” [Vet #4] Almost all participants did not think that it was important to be able to contact medical help from within an app: “Well my phone already has that. It will call 9-1-1 automatically if you want.” [Vet #1]
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| Prompts of when to call a provider |
Another important facet about self-care management is that the treatment indicated might require consultation with a health care provider. When asked if receiving prompts to notify a provider based on changes in their HF patterns that were similar to those that led to a hospitalization in the past would be helpful, almost half of the participants did not think that it would be helpful to have this feature, and one participant stated, “Actually, it'd probably scare me out of my wits, that I was gonna check out.” Yet another participant responded, “That would be helpful. To me it wouldn’t have to be a cardiologist, just somebody that’s knowledgeable.” [Vet #9]
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