“Help me to take care”: Professional expectations about using an application in heart failure

Abstract

Objective: To understand the expectations of the professionals about the construction and use of an educational and follow-up application to care.

Methods: Phenomenological and qualitative study. Convenience and purposive sampling were carried out and in-depth individual interviews with 35 professionals from the multidisciplinary team, between September and October 2020 in Brazil. All interviews were audio-recorded and data analyzed using the hermeneutic circle. The COREQ checklist was employed to report on the current study.

Results: Two main units of meaning emerged: (a) The care of the person who lives with heart failure; and (b) The care of the person with heart failure intermediated by an application. Care for the person with the disease brings together elements related to the identification of demands and understanding of their surroundings, with guidance and use of technologies.

Conclusions: The professionals were favorable to the development of an application and considered it beneficial. The use of it, would allow the approximation between patients and their family and the multidisciplinary team; respect the patient’s needs and overcome the precariousness of the health system.