Heart Failure Patients’ Use of and Attitudes Toward the Internet and Mobile Health for Self-Care

Abstract

Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome that is mentioned in approximately 1 in 8 death certificates in the United States. Adherence to heart failure self-care behaviors is critical to minimize complications and prevent hospital readmissions. Mobile health technologies offer promising opportunities for enhancing self-care by enabling remote tracking and providing timely reminders. We sought to investigate three characteristics of heart failure patients with respect to their personal health information seeking behavior: (1) extent to which they use the internet to search for heart failure information; (2) extent to which they are familiar with mobile health apps and devices; and (3) perceptions they have about using an activity tracker or smartwatch to assist them in managing their heart failure self-care. Fifty heart failure patients were asked about their internet and mobile health usage. The structured interview included questions adapted from the Health Information National Trends Survey. More than 50% of the patients reported using the internet to search for heart failure information in the past 12 months, experience using health-related apps, and thoughts that an activity tracker or smartwatch could help them manage heart failure. Qualitative analysis of the structured interviews revealed six themes: trust in their physicians, alternatives to mobile health apps, lack of need for or knowledge about mobile health devices, financial barriers to activity tracker and smartwatch ownership, benefits of tracking and reminders, and uncertainty of their potential due to lack of knowledge. Trust in their doctors was a major factor for heart failure patients who reported not searching for health information on the internet. While those who used mobile health apps and devices found them to be useful, patients who did not use these devices were generally unaware of or unknowledgeable about them. Patient-provider discussions about the potential uses of mobile health apps and devices with respect to heart failure self-care may impact their usage.