Table 6 Potential barriers to e-health app use
Potential barriers to e-health app use | Illustrative quotes |
|---|---|
Poor internet connection, particularly in rural areas | “There are more people than you think in our region who don’t have internet access” (GP11) |
Lack of technology skills | “In our region, there are a lot of young people who do not have the skills, contrary to what we believe” (GP11) |
Sociocultural disparity with some patients not owning a smartphone or tablet | “There are a lot of young people who don’t have a smartphone” (GP11) |
Elderly patients who use little or no technologies | “It’s assumed that people have a certain mastery of computers but that’s not necessarily the case for everyone (…) I’m talking about people of a certain age” (GP1) “Some patients won’t have the reflex to check their tablet all the time. Although there are those who are hyper connected” (GP7) |
Lack of patient motivation and adherence | “You have to have the courage to exercise alone” (GP9) “Those under 35 won’t do it much. More out of laziness.” (GP8) |
Inability to personalise to the patient so inappropriate use possible in the event of comorbidities | “See this [shows an exercise on the app]. It may be good for low back pain but for a patient who had shoulder pain, I would advise against it” (GP5) |
Lack of supervision meaning patients don’t receive feedback to correct how they are doing the exercises and thus prevent injuries | “There is no feedback. Patients follow images. Some people know how to reproduce and understand the movements that are shown to them but there are others who do it very badly and don’t know how to correct themselves” (GP15) |
Lack of human contact | “It would not suit me at all. I would have preferred to see someone in real life” (GP6) “I don’t want to be pessimistic but doing everything alone is hard, you still need motivation otherwise, people get bored. Being alone can be a barrier” (GP9) |
Safety, especially for elderly patients | “It’s unsafe to allow elderly patients to do these exercises alone at home. They may hurt themselves and make the conditions worse” (GP12) |