What is an ideal mHealth for post-discharge home care of CHD: perspectives from primary caregivers, healthcare professionals, and project technical consultants: a qualitative research study
- 1School of Nursing, Kunming Medical University
- 2First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University
Abstract
Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) remains a leading global birth defect with high prevalence, yet advances in diagnosis and treatment have raised survival rates to 90%–95%. This epidemiological shift transforms CHD into a chronic condition demanding long-term post-discharge home management. Although mobile health (mHealth) holds promise for supporting such care, current tools suffer from low adherence, insufficient age-appropriateness, and a lack of emotional and social support, and most evaluations neglect the integrated perspectives of primary caregivers, clinicians, and technical developers.
Objective: This study aims to explore and synthesize the needs for and perspectives regarding an idealized mHealth system for post-discharge CHD home care from the perspectives of primary caregivers (PC), healthcare professionals (HP), and technical consultants (TC).
Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was employed, using semi-structured interviews with seven PC, six HP, and three TC. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) framework.
Results: Six overarching themes were identified: (1) tailored to individual, (2) easy to use, (3) media in convergence, (4) at the ready, (5) one clear voice and (6) emotional support on demand.
Conclusions: These findings provide a stakeholder-informed framework to guide future development of user-centered, clinically relevant, and technically robust mHealth interventions.
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BibTeX
@article{yanglan2026what,
title = {{What is an ideal mHealth for post-discharge home care of CHD: perspectives from primary caregivers, healthcare professionals, and project technical consultants: a qualitative research study}},
author = {Ruijie YangLan and Fang Ma and Qinglan Li and Wantong Yao and Shu Peng},
journal = {Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fcvm.2026.1948803},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2026.1948803/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - What is an ideal mHealth for post-discharge home care of CHD: perspectives from primary caregivers, healthcare professionals, and project technical consultants: a qualitative research study
AU - Ruijie YangLan
AU - Fang Ma
AU - Qinglan Li
AU - Wantong Yao
AU - Shu Peng
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
DO - 10.3389/fcvm.2026.1948803
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2026.1948803/full
AB - Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) remains a leading global birth defect with high prevalence, yet advances in diagnosis and treatment have raised survival rates to 90%–95%. This epidemiological shift transforms CHD into a chronic condition demanding long-term post-discharge home management. Although mobile health (mHealth) holds promise for supporting such care, current tools suffer from low adherence, insufficient age-appropriateness, and a lack of emotional and social support, and most evaluations neglect the integrated perspectives of primary caregivers, clinicians, and technical developers. Objective: This study aims to explore and synthesize the needs for and perspectives regarding an idealized mHealth system for post-discharge CHD home care from the perspectives of primary caregivers (PC), healthcare professionals (HP), and technical consultants (TC). Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was employed, using semi-structured interviews with seven PC, six HP, and three TC. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) framework. Results: Six overarching themes were identified: (1) tailored to individual, (2) easy to use, (3) media in convergence, (4) at the ready, (5) one clear voice and (6) emotional support on demand. Conclusions: These findings provide a stakeholder-informed framework to guide future development of user-centered, clinically relevant, and technically robust mHealth interventions.
SN - 2297-055X
ER -