Acceptability of a New Remote Monitoring Service for Patients with COVID-19 Infection using Wearable BioStickers™: A Mixed Methods Study

The COVID-19 pandemic saw rapid adoption of telehealth, including remote patient monitoring (RPM). There is limited evidence about how patients and staff experience such services in New Zealand. This study aimed to understand the acceptability of the RPM experience, particularly for Maori and Pacific peoples, and identify strengths, gaps, and limitations to inform future delivery of services. A mixed methods study was undertaken between 4 July and 11 September 2022 in Auckland. We conducted telephone surveys with patients and semi-structured interviews with patients and staff. Survey, and clinical and administrative data were analysed descriptively using SPSS. Interviews were analysed using Directed Content Analysis. 121 patients took part in the study, with the majority identifying as Maori and Pacific peoples (40% and 17%, respectively). We conducted 75 telephone surveys (62% response rate), and 30 semi-structured interviews (18 patients and 12 staff). Patients reported feeling safe and reassured while in the RPM service and that they would be willing to use it again. Staff reflected on a range of potential benefits that RPM offers, identified learnings and would like to see a more widespread rollout of RPM. This study demonstrated that remote monitoring of patients infected with Covid-19 can provide an acceptable model for a culturally diverse population. Future research could focus on applying this model to other patient groups, such as people with chronic conditions.