Designing Home Telecare: A Case Study in Monitoring Cystic Fibrosis

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using home telecare for monitoring cystic fibrosis (CF). Five adolescents were asked to use a home telecare system during a routine hospital visit over one week. Frequency of use was measured from computer logs. Unacceptable measurements were identified by visual inspection. User impressions of home telecare and appropriateness of the system for managing CF was determined from observations of user interaction, survey and qualitative analysis. Patients used the system to record lung function measurements without any supervision and indicated that the system was easy to learn and use. The role of home telecare in supporting collaborative self-management appeared to be well understood. Home telecare was seen as a supplement to standard care that would provide a link to the hospital between clinic visits. Participants indicated that feedback provided by the system and ongoing clinical support would determine long-term use and compliance with the monitoring protocol. Clinicians reported the usefulness of home telecare in maintaining a longitudinal record of their patient's health that would supplement verbal description of symptoms and reduce time to treatment by increasing patient self-awareness of health status. Home telecare may be a feasible intervention for monitoring CF. Feedback provided by the system must be presented in a format that is familiar and easily understood by users. Further system refinement and evaluation is required to determine patient compliance with their customized monitoring protocol prior to assessing impact on clinical outcomes.