How virtual admission affects coping - telemedicine for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Aims and objectives To describe what characterises chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients' coping of physical, emotional and social problems before, during and after virtual admission, in interaction with health professionals and relatives. Background Telemedicine for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is gaining ground. However, virtual admission using telemedicine in the patients' home as a replacement of hospital admission has received little attention. Furthermore, little is known about how telemedicine affects chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients' coping. Design Grounded Theory study using semi-structured interviews. Methods The study was a part of The Virtual Hospital study, exploring virtual admission for patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. During virtual admission, patients had access to medical equipment consisting of monitoring devices, medication, nebuliser and a touch screen with built-in videoconference system. Nine participants were interviewed after virtual admission. Open coding, axial coding and selective coding, using constant comparative analysis, were conducted. Results A substantive Grounded Theory was developed, containing the core category - struggling to be in control of life with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - related to four categories: complete powerlessness, dependency, pursuit of regaining autonomy and efforts to remain in control of problems related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Virtual admission supported participants' autonomy. The involvement of health professionals was reduced as participants used the medical equipment to cope with disease-related problems. Participants' coping was closely linked to the presence of the equipment, making it difficult for them to apply their experiences after discharge from virtual admission. Conclusions Virtual admission may support chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients' coping of physical and emotional problems. However, coping experiences made during virtual admission may not be directly applicable outside a telemedical setting. Relevance to clinical practice Telemedicine may result in different roles for patients, relatives and health professionals. Clinicians should consider how they can support chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients' coping during telemedical interventions, focusing on how to ensure a sustained improvement that patients can benefit from outside the telemedical setting.