A Qualitative Study of the Perspectives of Healthcare Professionals on Features of Digital Health Interventions to Support Physical Activity in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients.
Lauren Handler, Paula Jaloul, Jessica Clancy and 9 others
PMID 36537126WHAT IT FOUND
Transplant clinicians, mostly physiotherapists, said a digital activity tool should give organ-specific exercise guidance, adaptable home programs, credible evidence, privacy, and two-way clinician follow-up.
They worried staffing, costs, and device access could limit use.
Key findings
01Twelve of thirteen clinicians said the tool should provide physical activity guidelines specific to the transplant organ group.
02All clinicians said clinician involvement and follow-up using the tool were critical.
03Clinicians saw staffing requirements, device access, and related costs as barriers to implementing follow-up and digital use.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included 13 healthcare professionals, not transplant recipients, so it describes clinician opinions rather than patient experiences or outcomes. Participants were recruited through professional networks and snowball sampling, and came from only 4 Canadian provinces, so views may not represent all transplant teams. Most participants worked with lung transplant recipients and early post-transplant care, so long-term activity support may not be captured. The study was done before the pandemic, so views on digital tools and access may have changed. No digital intervention was tested, so the study cannot show whether any feature improves physical activity or health.
Declared interests
The supplied metadata lists non-U.S. government research support; no author conflicts of interest are stated in the article text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that a digital health intervention increases physical activity or improves transplant outcomes. It reports what 13 transplant clinicians said they would want in a future tool; no patients were studied and no intervention was tested.