Introduction: In the home care sector, remote care monitoring (RCM) is emerging as a solution to improve client health outcomes and wellbeing, and support system capacity. Previous research has identified that patient and provider perspectives on RCM impacts its implementation, yet these dynamics have received little attention in home care research. This exploratory qualitative descriptive study aimed to understand home care nurses’ pre-implementation perspectives on RCM to support its future use. Methods: Fourteen nurses at a home care organization in Ontario, Canada were interviewed. Interviews were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Results: Four descriptive categories were identified: (1) participants viewed their role in supporting RCM through the lens of what they valued as home care nurses: supporting client health and wellbeing and forming connections with clients. Participants expressed positive sentiments about the potential to participate in RCM as part of their educator role. (2) participants had perspectives on clients’ readiness for participating in an RCM program, and caregivers were viewed as playing an important role supporting clients to use RCM. (3) participants expressed concern about supporting RCM if it led to a reduction in in-person care and (4) identified a need for clarity around responsibilities for responding to RCM alerts. Conclusions: These findings suggest examining RCM programs through a person-centered and relational lens. Further, home care organizations should consider aligning education and training for healthcare providers with what matters most to them: client wellbeing and the quality of care.
Turriff et al. (Wed,) studied this question.